If Nvidia can't buy Arm then Qualcomm's rumoured Intel purchase is also unlikely to happen.

It's been just a few short weeks since a Reuters report suggested that Qualcomm was eyeing Intel's business in chip design. Now, it is claimed that the maker of the Snapdragon X has approached Intel to discuss a takeover. It's a nice tale, but it will happen.

CNBC also reported on the same thing. Qualcomm has approached Intel to discuss the possibility of an acquisition. Both publications don't provide many details, but they both note that Qualcomm and Intel have declined to comment.

Now, even though the US-based firm has a much higher market capitalization, its revenue streams and operating income are much smaller. Qualcomm has some cash on hand, but not enough to buy Team Blue.

It's not the money that matters, but rather why would Qualcomm want Intel? Although Intel has made modifications to its foundries in order to make it easier for them to manufacture Arm-based processors, the entire setup is still heavily focused on Intel x86 chips. Qualcomm is unlikely to be interested in this side of the business.

I think that it would be down to licenses, and specifically those for the x86 Architecture, which is the primary building block of all desktop CPUs today. Qualcomm's chips, which are Arm-based, require software translation and emulators to run Windows and related applications and games on laptops equipped with a Snapdragon processor. If Qualcomm could make its x86 chips then none of this is required. It could do that , but Qualcomm would need to get a licence from Intel to do it.

Intel may block the deal or increase the price in the future, even though it is cheaper to purchase a license rather than an entire company. You can control who gets the license if you own it. In theory, yes.

The truth is that AMD has a lot of control over x86 licensing and would veto any change that Qualcomm wanted to make.

The deal would almost certainly be blocked not only in the US but also in other countries. Remember when Nvidia tried to buy Arm? The deal was rejected despite the fact that Nvidia offered more money than needed and agreed to all sorts of conditions.

Intel's foundry service could be sold off if things get really bad, but as things stand, Intel makes enough money to offset its fab losses. Intel's foundry service may be sold if things really get bad, but for now, it makes enough money to offset the losses from its fabs.

Where did this story come from if there is no chance that the deal will ever happen? I don't believe it's a rumour, but I suspect that Qualcomm and Intel are having discussions about partnering up for certain things. Perhaps just investment opportunities, or even just talking about Intel manufacturing Snapdragon chip.

It's certain that we won't hear the last about Qualcomm buying Intel, but I am 100% certain that it will not happen. Even if the deal was proposed, monopoly commissions and merger commissions will block it immediately.