Qualcomm and Arm set for jury verdict in contract breach feud

In Wilmington, Delaware, a jury is set to decide this Friday whether chipmaker Qualcomm can pursue new versions of Arm Holdings' computing architecture after alleging the supplier breached licensing agreements and sabotaged Qualcomm's dealings with Meta Platforms. The five-day trial, the second in two years, is the latest in a deteriorating business relationship between the companies following SoftBank Group's acquisition of Arm in 2016.

At stake is Qualcomm's ability to renegotiate terms for new Arm architecture versions, with Qualcomm alleging Arm withheld software patches, violated royalty agreements, and leaked confidential information to Bloomberg. Arm's defense argues Qualcomm suffered no harm from the allegations and that the royalty penalty in the licensing agreement is unenforceable.

The trial, like the 2024 trial, featured testimony from both Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon and Arm CEO Rene Haas, and was presided over by US District Judge Maryellen Noreika.