Qualcomm Inc. kicked off its biggest stock rally since 2019 after unveiling chips and computers for the lucrative AI data center market, aiming to challenge Nvidia Corp. in the fastest-growing part of the industry.

Shares in the semiconductor maker rose as much as 20% in Monday trading after it launched AI chips to compete with Nvidia..

Qualcomm announced the AI200 and AI250 and has plans to release AI chips annually.

Qualcomm is evolving from a smartphone chipmaker to a comprehensive AI technology leader. The transition won’t happen overnight, but the strategy appears appealing and the timing is favorable.

Qualcomm had datacenter envy back when Intel ruled the bit barns of the world, and now it has it even worse now that Nvidia has shown how AI processing

Qualcomm's new AI200/AI250 inference systems could offset Apple revenue loss and drive growth. Click here to read an analysis of QCOM stock now.

The company is launching chip-based AI accelerator cards for AI inference and data center racks, and is counting Saudi Arabian AI firm Humain as its first customer.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said earlier this year that the Washington-based company could shrink its workforce by embracing AI. The firm is part of a cohort of large-cap companies that have seen their AI-related productivity increase as the technology becomes mainstream.