Public transcript

Qualcomm CEO on the future of agents and devices | Satya Nadella at Microsoft Build 2026

By: Microsoft
Length: 3 min
Language: English
Text from: the video's captions
Transcribed: 13 October 2026

Read the full transcript Open on YouTube

Notes in English.

Summary

Satya Nadella and Cristiano Amon (Qualcomm) discuss the platform shift from apps to agents at Microsoft Build 2026's Device Lab. They talk about how agents change the nature of devices, requiring power-efficient silicon, real-time context, and many sensors from edge to cloud. They conclude that agents will drive the industry toward an open, horizontal ecosystem rather than today's vertical, phone-centered platforms.

Key points

Cristiano Amon describes the move from apps to agents as a very big generational technology transition.
Agents will be closer to our senses—eyes, mouth, ears—and to things we wear, changing the definition of wearables.
Agent-driven devices need power-efficient CPUs, cloud-native silicon, and many sensors for real-time context from edge to cloud.
Nadella emphasizes the platform must be open: it's about any agent, not one agent.
The smartphone-centered world produced vertical platforms, but agent-centered experiences will push the industry toward an open horizontal platform.
The goal is for agentic systems to run across many devices carrying intelligence in different contexts.
Both speakers describe the Microsoft-Qualcomm partnership as just the beginning.

Questions it answers

00:00Platform shift to agents

Why is the move from apps to agents such a big platform shift?

Cristiano Amon says every technology transition brings a shift, and this one seems very big because agents change the whole nature of the device. AI that understands the world like we do will be closer to our senses and things we wear.

Agents change the nature of the device itself.
AI will be closer to our senses: eyes, mouth, ears, and things we wear.

01:00Silicon and system design

What computing and silicon do agent-driven devices need?

Computing must be geared toward real-time context, from silicon to cloud, with processing at both the edge and the cloud. Devices need a very power-efficient CPU, cloud-native design, and a lot of sensors for context.

Silicon must be geared toward real-time context, from edge to cloud.
Devices need a power-efficient CPU and many sensors for context.

02:00Open horizontal ecosystem

Why does an agent-centered world need an open ecosystem?

Today's smartphone-centered world led to vertical platforms from single companies, but when agents become the center of the digital experience, the industry will look for an open horizontal platform. Nadella and Amon want anyone building agentic systems to imagine many devices carrying intelligence in different contexts.

It's about any agent, not one agent.
The industry will look for an open horizontal platform for agents.
The Microsoft-Qualcomm partnership is just the beginning.

Notes

The platform shift

Satya Nadella and Cristiano Amon discuss the shift from building operating systems and devices for apps to building for agents.
Amon calls this a very big generational technology transition, because agents change the whole nature of the device itself.

Agents closer to our senses

If an AI understands the world the way we understand it, it will be closer to our eyes, mouth, and ears, and to things we wear.
This is changing the nature of computing and even the definition of a wearable platform, with incredible new form factors appearing.

Silicon and system requirements

Computing must be geared toward real-time context, from silicon to cloud.
Devices need a very power-efficient CPU, a cloud-native experience, and a lot of sensors for context.
This makes the experience much more personalized and bespoke than an app.

Open ecosystem, not one agent

Nadella stresses it is not about one agent but any agent.
Today the smartphone is the center of digital life, so devices extend the phone, which naturally led to vertical platforms from one company.
When agents become the center of the digital experience, the industry will look for an open horizontal platform where agents interact with the best possible device for different applications.
The goal is to let anyone building agentic systems imagine many devices carrying intelligence in different contexts.
Both call the Microsoft-Qualcomm partnership a source of pride and just the beginning.

Text from the video's own captions. Summary and notes written by AI from the transcript, so check anything important against the recording.