Apple employs engineers for a new office in Southern California to design wireless chips that could ultimately replace components provided by Broadcom Inc. and Skyworks Solutions Inc.
The company seeks a few dozen people to develop wireless chips in Irvine, Broadcom, Skyworks, and other offices. Current job listings indicate that Apple wants modem chips and other wireless semiconductors employees.
It’s part of a more comprehensive approach of developing satellite offices, letting the tech giant target engineering hotbeds and bait employees who might not want to work at its home base in Silicon Valley. The practice also has helped Apple further its goal of making more of its components.
Shares of wireless-chip makers slid Thursday after Bloomberg reported on the effort. Skyworks fell by 11%, marking its most significant intraday decline since March 2020. Broadcom and Qualcomm Inc. dropped more than 4% each.
Apple’s interest in employing skills connected to a particular technology is usually bad news for the current providers. The company has increasingly touted the significance of its in-house chip designs in making its products stand out. Intel Corp., the industry’s biggest company, has joined the growing list of chipmakers that have lost their grip on Apple products.
