If the Alphawave acquisition materializes, it would mark Qualcomm’s third buyout since the start of the year. Earlier this week, the chip giant announced that it has bought Vietnamese artificial intelligence research group MovianAI. Qualcomm previously acquired Edge Impulse Inc, a venture-backed provider of AI model development software.

British chip designer Arm Holdings explored acquiring semiconductor IP supplier Alphawave, but backed out due to discussions with SoftBank and Qualcomm. Arm expects 50% data center CPU market share by 2025 and has been accused of antitrust violations.

A takeover would be a bitter setback for London as it struggles to attract hi-tech companies and others to the stock market, with many flocking to New York.