Qualcomm Accuses Arm of Violating License Agreement, Secretly Intending to Become a Chipmaker

Qualcomm and Arm are set to meet in court again. Qualcomm’s lawsuit alleges breach of licensing agreement, squeezing out the mobile processor market, attempting to undermine customer relationships, and secretly developing its own chips.

Image source: Conny Schneider / Unsplash

Qualcomm already amended its complaint in January, and has now filed a motion for additional amendments. The updated version of the complaint provides new details about Arm’s alleged breach of contract and mentions Arm’s development of its own chip — contradicting previous statements by CEO Rene Haas, Laptop Mag reports.

The core of the dispute is the Technology License Agreement (TLA). Qualcomm claims that Arm breached the agreement by misleading Qualcomm’s customers about the nature of their relationship, delaying the transfer of critical technology, and concealing its intentions to enter the market as a full-fledged chip maker.

Specifically, Qualcomm accuses Arm of intentionally attempting to disrupt Qualcomm’s business relationships by sending customers emails that misrepresented the terms of its agreement with NUVIA, which Qualcomm acquired in 2021. The emails allegedly claimed that Qualcomm was required to destroy consumer processors in development.

It also says that Arm has refused to renew the license on reasonable terms, which violates the terms of the contract. Of particular interest is Qualcomm’s claim that Arm has secretly been developing its own chips, despite its CEO previously telling the court that the company does not make chips. However, in February, the Financial Times presented evidence to the contrary, which Qualcomm cited in court to accuse its competitor of bad faith.

Image source: Qualcomm Technologies

Arm has declined to comment on the situation so far, but has previously acknowledged that it would not have been able to win the first court case, where Qualcomm defended the right to use Oryon cores in its Snapdragon X chips, including the budget version and the next generation, codenamed Project Glymur.

Experts say the new lawsuit is unlikely to prevent Qualcomm from continuing to make chips. But it could seriously affect the relationship between the companies, which have collaborated on technology licensing for decades. Qualcomm and Arm are expected to return to court in February 2026. Experts say the conflict goes beyond a typical corporate dispute and could change the balance of power in the chip-making market.