UK Chip Designer Alphawave Agrees to $2.4bn Takeover by US Rival Qualcomm
In a significant blow to the London Stock Exchange, British chip designer Alphawave has agreed to a $2.4bn (£1.8bn) takeover by its US rival Qualcomm. The deal, which was announced on Monday, marks the latest loss to the UK’s tech sector, as companies increasingly seek better liquidity and higher valuations on US markets.
According to a report by The Guardian, Alphawave received an offer worth 183p a share from Qualcomm, and its board has recommended the deal to shareholders after months of talks. The acquisition is expected to complete during the first three months of 2026, valuing Alphawave at $2.4bn. As The Guardian notes, Alphawave designs and licenses high-speed connectivity technology that can be applied in datacentres and AI applications, key areas for growth in the sector.
The takeover is the latest in a string of high-profile technology companies that listed in London but will leave the market due to either a takeover by a bigger US rival or have switched their listing to New York. The Guardian reports that just a handful of large listed companies in the tech sector remain in the UK, while US markets have been dominated by tech players – including the “Magnificent Seven” group of companies.
The departure of Alphawave and other tech companies from the London Stock Exchange has raised concerns about the UK’s ability to retain large technology companies. The Guardian quotes Tony Pialis, the chief executive of Alphawave, as saying that the takeover represented an opportunity to “expand our product offerings, reach a broader customer base, and enhance our technological capabilities”. Cristiano Amon, the chief executive of San-Diego based Qualcomm, added that Alphawave had developed “leading high-speed wired connectivity and compute technologies” that were complementary to his company’s power-efficient central processing unit and neural processing unit cores.
The deal has also sparked concerns about the future of the London Stock Exchange, which has struggled to hang on to large technology companies in recent years. The Guardian reports that several companies, including the online payments company Wise and the food delivery app Deliveroo, have either announced plans to leave the UK market or have already made the switch to US markets.
In a separate deal announced on Monday, the UK quantum computing startup Oxford Ionics agreed to a $1.1bn takeover by its US rival IonQ. The acquisition marks another significant loss to the UK’s tech sector, as companies seek better opportunities and resources on US markets. As reported by The Guardian, Oxford Ionics, which was spun out of the University of Oxford, was founded by the physicists Chris Ballance and Tom Harty in 2019, and both founders will remain at IonQ after the acquisition is completed.
The takeover of Alphawave and Oxford Ionics highlights the ongoing challenges faced by the UK’s tech sector, as companies seek better opportunities and resources on US markets. The Guardian notes that the UK can boast just a handful of large listed companies in the tech sector, while US markets continue to dominate the industry. As the UK’s tech sector continues to evolve, it remains to be seen how the country’s markets will adapt to retain large technology companies and remain competitive on the global stage.
In related news, The Guardian recently reported that UK banks are set to experiment with Nvidia AI in a ‘supercharged sandbox’ scheme, highlighting the growing importance of AI and technology in the financial sector. The UK’s tech sector is expected to continue growing, but the loss of companies like Alphawave and Oxford Ionics to US markets poses significant challenges for the industry.
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