Qualcomm listened to the appeal of the Ukrainian authorities. No more processors for Russian companies

For a dozen or so days, more companies have been resigning from cooperation with Russian entities, ceasing their activities in this country or canceling deliveries to it. This movement is also clearly visible among technology companies, mainly American, European, Japanese, South Korean and Taiwanese.

Mobile processors not for Russian companies

The American Qualcomm has joined this group. It is one of the leading processor manufacturers in the world, supplying a large part of the smartphones produced with mobile systems from the Snapdragon series. Currently, almost all high-end and mid-range phones from almost every major manufacturer are based on them.

Qualcomm’s reaction is a response to the appeal of the minister of digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, who asked not to support the aggressor’s country. “Your products are meant to improve the quality of life. Meanwhile, they are still available in Russia, which inadvertently enables the country to kill thousands of Ukrainians,” Fedorov wrote on Twitter.

It did not take long for the American company to react. In response to the appeal of the Ukrainian official Nate Tibbits (Vice President of Qualcomm), he wrote back that this was not true, because the company complies with the US regulations introduced under the sanctions against Russia and no longer sells its products to local companies. Qualcomm added that the company called for a “peaceful solution to aggression in Ukraine” and provided funds to support the Ukrainians.

This means that Russian technology companies that used Qualcomm solutions to build their own products (i.e. all mobile electronics that use SoC systems) will have to look for sources of supply elsewhere. This does not mean, however, that smartphones with Qualcomm chips will not be available in Russia, which were produced by foreign companies not subject to sanctions, and did not end their activity in the aggressor’s country.

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