Qualcomm NASDAQ: QCOM used the second day of its Snapdragon Summit to outline its vision for “personal AI,” highlighting new on-device AI software, wearable reference designs, audio platforms and partnerships intended to support agentic experiences across phones, PCs, cars, glasses and other connected devices.
The company’s presentations emphasized a hybrid computing model in which AI workloads can be distributed between cloud infrastructure and local devices depending on factors including latency, privacy, connectivity and available compute resources.
Liquid AI Announces Context Layer for Snapdragon
Ramin Hasani, co-founder and CEO of Liquid AI, announced Liquid Context on Snapdragon, which he described as a smart memory layer designed to read, compress and write information from user experiences across devices. The product is intended for original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, and combines a memory layer with local AI agents.
Hasani said the system can use information users authorize it to access, such as messages, notes and photos, to help agents carry out proactive tasks. In a demonstration, he described an agent that could manage a calendar and draft social-media posts while operating locally on a Snapdragon device’s Hexagon neural processing unit.
Liquid AI, which spun out of MIT CSAIL about three and a half years ago, builds open-weight Liquid Foundation Models ranging from 200 million to 24 billion parameters, according to Hasani. He said the company’s models receive about 1.4 million downloads weekly and are designed through a hardware-in-the-loop approach rather than relying solely on post-training optimization.
Hasani also said Liquid AI is working with Mercedes-Benz on local in-car intelligence using Qualcomm Snapdragon Digital Cockpit technology. He said the company aims to have its models deployed on 50% of annually produced devices across categories including wearables, handsets, vehicles, PCs, robots and industrial products by 2029.
Wearables, Glasses and Health Applications
Ziad Asghar, senior vice president and general manager of XR, wearables and personal AI at Qualcomm Technologies, said wearable devices could provide the real-time context needed for more personalized AI. He highlighted watches, glasses, rings, earbuds, pendants and other devices as potential inputs for AI systems that can see, hear and understand a user’s environment.
Qualcomm introduced its Snapdragon START program, which is designed to help partners bring personal AI devices to market through silicon, software and ecosystem support. The company said it has developed a compact module based on the Snapdragon AR1+ platform for AI glasses.
Inspecs, an eyewear manufacturer, said it is collaborating exclusively with Qualcomm Technologies under Snapdragon START on the Snapdragon AR1+ Gen 1 platform. Founder and Executive Chairman Robin Totterman introduced enterprise safety eyewear with a bridge-mounted camera, microphones, speakers, voice and touch controls, and a high-capacity battery. The glasses are intended to support hands-free AI and remote assistance in industrial settings.
Aware CEO Ash Saulsbury said his company is developing an agentic operating system, Agentic System One, centered on eyewear. He described workflows that could move across glasses, phones and cars, while stating that users’ memories would be cryptographically stored and accessible only to the user.
Qualcomm also previewed a personal AI pin reference design powered by the Snapdragon Wear Elite platform. The pin combines standalone 5G, dual cameras, microphones and on-device AI, with more information expected next year.
In healthcare, Asghar announced the formation of the Personal AI Health Alliance, a community of healthcare and technology organizations focused on on-device personal AI applications. Representatives from Optum Health, Scripps Health and Merck discussed potential uses including fall-risk monitoring, ambient clinical documentation and more personalized care.
New Premium Hearables Platform
Qualcomm introduced Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2, a premium audio platform designed for personal AI hearables. Andrew Laister, staff product manager at Qualcomm, said the platform is 30% smaller than its predecessor, doubles compute and AI performance, and reduces power consumption by 40%.
The platform includes integrated Bluetooth and micropower Wi-Fi connectivity and is intended to support voice-first AI interactions, contextual sensing and premium audio. Qualcomm also announced Snapdragon Sound Apps and Agents, an ecosystem intended to let service providers deliver applications and AI agents directly to compatible hearables. The company said it is working with MicroEdge, Cinemo, Roon and Qobuz-related service pathways, among others.
Cleer said it is collaborating with Qualcomm on intelligent hearables that combine audio and visual context, while HP and Bose were also cited as companies working with Qualcomm on future audio products.
PC, Software and Ecosystem Updates
Chris Lattner, Qualcomm’s executive vice president of advanced AI software and platforms and a co-founder of Modular, discussed the company’s unified AI software stack spanning Mojo, MAX and Modular Cloud. He said Mojo 1.0 was released under the Apache 2.0 license and that Qualcomm plans to bring the software platform across its portfolio, including Snapdragon devices.
Kedar Kondap, Qualcomm Technologies’ senior vice president and general manager of compute and gaming, said more than 7,300 applications now run on Windows on Snapdragon, alongside more than 170 PC designs. He also announced official Linux support for Snapdragon X2 Series platforms, with Debian support expected by year-end. Canonical said it is targeting Ubuntu certification for Snapdragon X2 Series systems in the first half of next year.
Microsoft announced new Snapdragon-powered Surface devices available for preorder, including a 12-inch Surface Pro and 13-inch Surface Laptop based on Snapdragon X Plus. Microsoft said the laptop offers up to 22 hours of battery life and 95% faster local AI inference generation year over year, while the Surface Pro features a brighter display and faster graphics performance.
Google also discussed Googlebook, a new laptop platform that combines ChromeOS and Android technologies and is built to use Snapdragon X Elite. Google said the platform will support desktop-optimized Android applications, the Play Store catalog, desktop Chrome, local Gemini features and up to 19 hours of real-world battery life.
About Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM)
Qualcomm Incorporated NASDAQ: QCOM is a technology company that develops wireless communications technologies, semiconductors and related intellectual property. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company serves customers and partners worldwide across the mobile, automotive, consumer electronics and industrial markets.
Through its Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT) business, Qualcomm designs and supplies integrated circuits, system software and hardware platforms. Its products include Snapdragon mobile platforms, 5G and other wireless modems, radio-frequency components, connectivity solutions, processors and artificial intelligence technologies.
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