高通希望打入汽车业

上周二，高通首席执行官史蒂夫•莫伦科夫说：“认真考虑智能联网汽车的影响就知道，对我们来说意义重大。”他的声音低沉有力。

这可不是开玩笑。去年，总部设在圣迭戈的芯片制造商宣布计划收购NXP Semiconductor，价格达到令人瞠目的470亿美元。现在高通为抓住智能联网汽车领域的机会大步迈进。连一向低调的莫伦科夫都在加州拉古纳海滩的《华尔街日报》D.Live大会上公开谈论。

他表示，高通希望在未来汽车领域占一块，而且是一大块。

莫伦科夫指出：“汽车的结构发生了很大变化，变得越来越聪明。”他还介绍了过去各自为营的联网技术如何整合为多个子系统组成的智能汽车体系，“我们想在子系统中占据一席之地……这真的是我们最擅长的工作。我们能紧跟技术变化解决系统问题。”

当然，细节决定成败。莫伦科夫承认“在汽车里应用技术跟在智能手机或个人电脑上大不一样”，汽车有其独特的挑战。此外还涉及更广泛的文化挑战，这方面人们才刚刚开始了解。

莫伦科夫说：“就联网智能汽车的影响而言，业界想得还不够远。另外，‘联网’不光是指互联网，也包括联结其他汽车。”

他还认为：“电动化会让汽车领域迎来新面孔。”

为什么各大竞争对手，比如英特尔、三星和诺基亚都应该关注高通在汽车领域的动作？因为汽车很可能是新一代设备大平台，尽管刚具雏形，但在其中争得一席之地的“淘金热”已经开始。

这方面莫伦科夫态度乐观。他似乎暗示大家都有机会：“创新大潮会涌起很多波，而且会持续很长一段时间。”（财富中文网）

译者：Charlie

审校：夏林

“If you think about all of the implications of the smart, connected car,” Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf said on Tuesday, trailing off, “for us, it’s significant.”

No kidding. The San Diego chipmaker, which last year announced that it would acquire NXP Semiconductor for an eye-popping $47 billion, is making significant moves to meet the opportunity. But Mollenkopf, typically understated, was unequivocal speaking at the Wall Street Journal’s D.Live conference in Laguna Beach, Calif.

He said Qualcomm wanted a piece of the car of the future. A big piece.

“There’s a big change in the architecture of the car. The car is getting smarter,” Mollenkopf said, outlining how once-disparate connected technologies were consolidating into a smart automotive system of subsystems. “We want to have a piece of all of those subsystems…which is really what we do best as a company. We solve systems problems as technology changes.”

The devil is in the details, of course. Mollenkopf acknowledged that “delivering technology into the car is different than delivering technology into the smartphone or PC” and comes with its own challenges. And there are broader cultural challenges we’re only beginning to understand.

“The industry isn’t thinking far enough ahead in terms of the implications of having a car connected and smart,” Mollenkopf said. “And ‘connected’ not just in terms of the Internet but connected to other cars.”

Plus, “electrification will allow new entrants to come into the car space,” he said.

Why should Qualcomm’s rivals—among them Intel, Samsung, and Nokia, depending on the category—be concerned with the company’s automotive ambitions? Because the car is arguably the next big device platform, and it’s a gold rush to secure a place in an enormous, albeit nascent, opportunity.

Mollenkopf is optimistic. There’s room for everyone, he seems to suggest: “There’s going to continue to be a large period of innovation for a long period of time.”