Acquired · Qualcomm · History
History
Qualcomm was founded in 1985 (San Diego, California). The timeline below traces every inflection point Acquired identified — founding, leadership changes, strategic pivots, crises, cultural moments.
The story
Irwin Jacobs and six co-founders left Linkabit to found Qualcomm in 1985. The company's early projects included satellite tracking and a trucking logistics product (OmniTRACS). The strategic turning point was CDMA: Qualcomm invented and patented the CDMA standard for wireless communications. When the US wireless industry selected CDMA as an alternative to GSM in the 1990s, and when CDMA became the basis for 3G globally, Qualcomm's IP portfolio became mandatory. Every carrier and device manufacturer that shipped a 3G device owed Qualcomm a royalty on the price of the device — not the chip, the device. The business model decoupled Qualcomm's revenue from chip manufacturing competition.
Inflection points · grouped by decade
1980s
- 1985Founding
Qualcomm founded in San Diego
Irwin Jacobs and co-founders leave Linkabit. Early projects include satellite communications and OmniTRACS (truck fleet tracking). CDMA research begins in parallel.
[Acquired Qualcomm episode]
1990s
- 1993Strategic shift
US adopts CDMA standard — Qualcomm's bet pays off
The US Telecommunications Industry Association selects CDMA as one of two competing wireless standards. Qualcomm's patents now cover mandatory infrastructure for US wireless.
[Acquired Qualcomm episode]
- 1999Strategic shift
CDMA adopted as basis for 3G globally (CDMA2000 + WCDMA)
The ITU selects CDMA-based standards for 3G worldwide. Even WCDMA (the GSM-family 3G path) uses Qualcomm-patented technology. Every 3G device globally owes Qualcomm a royalty.
[Acquired Qualcomm episode]
2000s
- 2000IPO
Qualcomm IPO — and then a 2,700% stock gain in 1999
Qualcomm actually IPO'd in 1991; it gained 2,700% in calendar 1999 — the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 that year — as investors priced in the CDMA royalty stream.
[Acquired Qualcomm episode]
2010s
- 2018Crisis
Broadcom hostile bid for $117B — blocked by CFIUS
Broadcom (then incorporated in Singapore) launched a hostile takeover bid. CFIUS blocked it on national security grounds: Qualcomm was deemed too strategically important for 5G to allow a foreign acquisition.
[Acquired Qualcomm/Broadcom episode]