Every Day Exclusive Interview with Qualcomm Global Senior Vice President Qian Kun: Four Challenges to Commercialize 6G and Its Impact on Reshaping AI Development

Every journalist｜Zhang Huaishui Every editor｜Bi Luming

The Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2026 will be held in Boao, Hainan from March 24 to 27. Guests from various countries will discuss development and build consensus around the theme of “Shaping a Common Future: New Situations, New Opportunities, New Cooperation.”

The reporter from “Daily Economic News” (hereinafter referred to as “the reporter”) noticed on-site that topics such as “Artificial Intelligence+” and “Digital Intelligence Empowerment” became popular discussion points among Chinese and foreign guests. The rapid development of AI has also raised higher demands on communication networks, chip computing power, and more.

How far is China from the commercialization of 6G? If humanity moves into the 6G era, what new impacts will it have on AI development and daily life? China is one of the most active regions in intelligent economic development; against this backdrop, what is Qualcomm’s next core strategy in the Chinese market?

Focusing on this series of questions, the reporter conducted an exclusive interview with Qian Kun, Senior Vice President of Qualcomm, during the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2026.

Image Source: Provided by the interviewee

Qualcomm (hereinafter referred to as “Qualcomm”) was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in San Diego, California, USA. It is recognized as the world’s largest mobile chip and technology manufacturer, with a cumulative R&D investment exceeding $100 billion. In China, Qualcomm has been in business for over 30 years, and its collaboration with Chinese ecosystem partners has expanded to various fields including smartphones, software, automotive, and the Internet of Things.

Development paths of the intelligent economy encompass personal AI, physical AI, and industrial AI

NBD: The “14th Five-Year Plan” clearly proposes to fully implement the “Artificial Intelligence+” initiative, empowering various industries comprehensively. What specific market changes do you think this will bring to the global chip industry? What impact does it have on Qualcomm’s business layout?

Qian Kun: From Qualcomm’s long-term experience in global industry development, to truly unleash the potential of “Artificial Intelligence+”, the key lies in building an efficient collaborative computing architecture between the edge, cloud, and endpoint. As “Artificial Intelligence+” accelerates empowerment in sectors like manufacturing, transportation, energy, healthcare, and consumer electronics, more applications require real-time perception, inference, and decision-making to be realized locally, which also raises higher demands on chips in terms of low power consumption, high energy efficiency, and heterogeneous computing capabilities.

We are addressing this demand by creating new processors. Based on nearly 20 years of continuous investment in AI technology, Qualcomm is focused on heterogeneous computing, optimizing the collaboration between CPU (Central Processing Unit), GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and NPU (Neural Processing Unit) to achieve high-performance, low-power operation of AI workloads at the endpoint and edge, while expanding business beyond smartphones to personal AI, smart wearable devices, PCs, automotive, edge networks, and industrial IoT, and accelerating into new fields like advanced robotics and data centers.

NBD: We noticed that “intelligent economy” was mentioned for the first time in this year’s government work report. As a leading global chip enterprise, how do you think we should seize the opportunity of the intelligent economy? From AI+ in the past to now proposing “intelligent economy,” what signal do you think this releases?

Qian Kun: “Artificial Intelligence+” has been included in the government work report for three consecutive years, while “intelligent economy” is mentioned for the first time. This change in wording reflects that AI is no longer just a breakthrough in individual technologies but is a key force driving various industries toward scaled applications. From “industrialization of intelligence” to “intelligentization of industries,” AI is accelerating the application of the new generation of smart terminals and intelligent agents, achieving commercialization and scaled expansion in key industry sectors.

From Qualcomm’s perspective, the “intelligent economy” can be understood from three levels: personal AI, physical AI, and industrial AI. Personal AI focuses on endpoints, driving AI experience from “application-driven” to “intelligent agent-driven,” bringing new opportunities for industrial development.

Physical AI allows intelligence to truly enter the real world, achieving perception, decision-making, and action in scenarios like automotive and robotics, promoting new industrial forms and efficiency improvements; while industrial AI systematically enhances operational efficiency and resilience in manufacturing, energy, and infrastructure through intelligent edge capabilities and platformization, accelerating the integration of digital technology and the real economy.

These three aspects together form the development path of the “intelligent economy” from “industrialization of intelligence” to “intelligentization of industries.” Qualcomm will continue to work hand in hand with industry partners to truly integrate intelligent technology into economic operations and industrial systems, contributing to the development of the “intelligent economy.”

6G will help build an intelligent network with perception capabilities

NBD: Recently, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon elaborated on the vision for 6G. How far are we from the commercialization of 6G? What obstacles need to be overcome? What new changes will the popularization of 6G bring to residents’ lives?

Qian Kun: From the perspective of global industry processes, 2026 is a key year for 6G standardization. Currently, the industry is advancing research and verification of 6G technology according to the established roadmap. During the 2026 World Mobile Communications Conference, Qualcomm announced that it has reached a consensus on 6G development with nearly 60 leading global partners (including nearly 20 Chinese companies) and has outlined a roadmap for gradually delivering 6G commercial systems starting in 2029.

From our perspective, achieving true commercialization for 6G requires overcoming four key challenges. First is the synergy of standards and ecosystems, as globally unified standards help reduce cost pressures from industry fragmentation and maintain economies of scale; second, spectrum resources and technology adaptation, as 6G will introduce higher frequency bands, raising demands for coverage, power consumption, and terminal design, which requires continuous technological advancement in aspects like GigaMIMO, advanced antenna design, and the collaborative optimization of RF and baseband, all while keeping costs manageable.

Third, breakthroughs in uplink capacity and physical limits are necessary, as the increase in uplink loads due to endpoint AI, intelligent agents, and perception applications necessitates continuous technological evolution in waveform design, full-duplex communication, transmission mechanisms, and antenna arrays. Finally, the transformation of operations and business models will be required, as 6G will drive further integration of connectivity, perception, and computing, posing new demands on operators’ network operation methods.

From a consumer’s perspective, the changes brought by 6G will be systematic rather than merely reflected in speed improvements. Enhanced uplink capabilities and lower system costs will facilitate moving AI inference from the cloud to the endpoint and edge, enabling intelligent services to be available anytime and anywhere.

At the same time, 6G will accelerate the diversification of terminal forms, with smart glasses, wearable devices, and more evolving into personal AI terminals that possess autonomous perception, understanding, and decision-making capabilities. Additionally, RF-based perception capabilities will integrate into daily life without relying on cameras, balancing all-weather capabilities with privacy protection in scenarios such as security, home care, and public safety.

I want to emphasize that for users, 6G will not introduce more complex operations, but rather more natural interactions, more stable experiences, and more intelligent services.

NBD: You previously mentioned that “5G+AI” will become a key technological trend. What is the logic behind this? If humanity moves into the 6G era, what new impacts will it have on AI development?

Qian Kun: Since 2021, Qualcomm has continuously emphasized and promoted the direction of “5G+AI empowering various industries.” This stems from the convergence of key technological trends. 5G is evolving from a communication technology into a universal connectivity and computing platform, while the development of artificial intelligence, especially endpoint AI, enables computing power and intelligent capabilities to be closer to application scenarios, and the deep integration of the two is accelerating the digitalization and intelligent transformation of industries.

Around this direction, we have always promoted technology implementation through collaboration with Chinese industry partners. The terminals and industry solutions created by partners span intelligent manufacturing, smart healthcare, smart transportation, intelligent connected vehicles, and IoT sectors, becoming important engines for driving industrial innovation and high-quality development.

If 5G has facilitated the widespread application of AI, then 6G will fundamentally reshape the way AI develops. Connectivity, perception, and computing—these three foundational pillars together build the AI-native platform of 6G, where the network itself will have perception, understanding, and decision-making capabilities. Moreover, 6G will promote efficient collaboration of AI across endpoints, edges, and clouds, helping to build intelligent networks with perception capabilities that not only integrate the physical and digital worlds but also create unprecedented experiences.

Accelerating the scaling of AI applications in key areas with Chinese partners

NBD: China is one of the largest chip consumption markets globally and is also the most active region for the development of the “intelligent economy.” What is Qualcomm’s core strategy in the Chinese market moving forward? In which areas will you increase investment?

Qian Kun: Currently, China is not only the world’s largest smart device market but also a critical platform for rapid innovation and iteration of cutting-edge technologies and rich scene implementation. Companies in China’s smartphone, smart automotive, and IoT sectors are becoming pioneering forces driving global endpoint AI development. Qualcomm is deepening collaboration and co-innovation with Chinese partners through the “AI Accelerate Program,” accelerating the scaling of AI applications in key areas.

As smart glasses, smartwatches, and smart earbuds gradually evolve into personal AI terminals, becoming users’ most natural and intimate intelligent entry points, Qualcomm is focused on building a “user-centered ecosystem” and continuously deepening cooperation with Chinese terminal manufacturers and developers to accelerate the transformation of AI capabilities into perceptible, sustainable products and services for users.

In addition, we believe that the automotive sector is not only a key carrier for the realization of physical AI but also an important scene for the accelerated scaling of “Artificial Intelligence+” applications. Qualcomm has established close collaborations with several Chinese automotive manufacturers and industry partners to continuously support the automotive industry in accelerating its transition to a “software and AI-defined” phase centered around software and intelligence.

Finally, in the field of embodied intelligence, Qualcomm recently launched a complete set of robotics technology solutions and released the Qualcomm Snapdragon IQ10 robotics-specific processor, working with Chinese ecosystem partners to actively explore the scaled application of robotics in diverse scenarios such as home, education, and industry.

Cover image source: Provided by the interviewee