AI Agents Will Supplant Phones as Digital Hub, Qualcomm CEO Says

Qualcomm Inc. Chief Executive Officer Cristiano Amon, speaking this week at the MWC Barcelona conference, said the incoming tide of artificial intelligence agents will transform the wider digital ecosystem.

While delivering a keynote address Tuesday at the mobile industry’s biggest annual gathering, Amon said 2026 will be the year of agents. These services — capable of performing complex, multistep tasks or proactively doing things for the user — require vast amounts of data and real-time context, which will elevate the importance of all manner of devices as data sources, Amon argued.

Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon at MWC Barcelona 2026. on March 3.

Photographer: Angel Garcia/Bloomberg

“We are going to move from ...