Qualcomm vs Twilio: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: Qualcomm and Twilio side by side

1. 1985Qualcomm

   Qualcomm Founded

   Irwin Jacobs, Andrew Viterbi, and five colleagues found Qualcomm Incorporated in San Diego, California, initially operating as a telecommunications consulting and research firm from a converted restaurant building.

2. 1988Qualcomm

   OmniTRACS Commercial Launch

   Qualcomm commercially launches OmniTRACS, a satellite-based two-way messaging and positioning system for long-haul trucking that becomes the company's first profitable product and funds ongoing CDMA research.

3. 1989Qualcomm

   First Live CDMA Demonstration

   Qualcomm conducts its first outdoor live CDMA demonstration in San Diego, proving the technology works in real-world conditions and attracting serious attention from U.S. Cellular carriers and equipment manufacturers.

4. 1991Qualcomm

   Initial Public Offering

   Qualcomm goes public on the Nasdaq Stock Market in December 1991, raising approximately $43 million at $16 per share in an IPO that gives the company capital to accelerate CDMA commercialization.

5. 1993Qualcomm

   IS-95 CDMA Standard Adopted

   The Telecommunications Industry Association formally adopts IS-95, a CDMA standard based substantially on Qualcomm's technology, as an approved digital cellular standard in the United States validating the company's decade-long technological bet.

6. 1995Qualcomm

   First Commercial CDMA Network Launched

   Sprint PCS launches the first commercial CDMA cellular network in the United States, using Qualcomm-based technology and marking the beginning of large-scale commercial deployment that would define U.S. Wireless infrastructure for the next twenty years.

7. 1999Qualcomm

   Strategic Exit from Infrastructure and Handsets

   Qualcomm sells its network infrastructure division to Ericsson and its handset manufacturing business to Kyocera, focusing the company entirely on chip design and patent licensing a strategic concentration that defines its business model to the present day.

8. 2007Qualcomm

   Snapdragon Platform Introduction

   Qualcomm introduces the Snapdragon brand for its mobile system-on-chip processors, establishing a consumer-facing identity for its mobile silicon that would become synonymous with premium Android smartphone performance over the following decade.

9. 2008Twilio

   Company Founded

   Jeff Lawson, Evan Cooke, and John Wolthuis founded Twilio and launched its first voice API for developers.

10. 2010Twilio

    SMS API Launched

    Twilio added programmable SMS, which became its largest product line.

11. 2015Twilio

    Authy Acquired

    Twilio acquired the two-factor authentication company Authy in 2015.

12. 2016Twilio

    NYSE IPO

    Twilio listed on the NYSE under the ticker TWLO in June 2016, pricing shares at $15.

13. 2019Qualcomm

    Apple Settlement and Licensing Agreement

    Following years of contentious litigation, Qualcomm and Apple reach a global settlement in April 2019 covering all pending litigation worldwide, with Apple agreeing to a multi-year chip supply deal and a licensing arrangement reportedly involving back payments…

14. 2019Twilio

    SendGrid Acquisition

    Twilio completed its all-stock acquisition of email platform SendGrid, announced at about $2 billion.

15. 2020Twilio

    Segment Acquisition

    Twilio acquired customer data platform Segment for about $3.2 billion, its largest deal.

16. 2021Qualcomm

    Nuvia Acquisition

    Qualcomm acquires Nuvia, a CPU startup founded by former Apple Silicon architects, for approximately $1.4 billion, bringing custom CPU design capabilities in-house that power the Oryon cores in Snapdragon 8 Elite and Snapdragon X Elite PC chips.

17. 2021Twilio

    Revenue Passes $2.8 Billion

    Twilio reported FY2021 revenue of $2.842 billion, up 61% year over year, with a net loss of $949.9 million.

18. 2023Qualcomm

    Snapdragon X Elite PC Platform Launch

    Qualcomm launches the Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus platforms for Windows PCs, powering Microsoft's Copilot+ PC initiative and marking the company's most significant push into personal computing since the failed Snapdragon 835 PC effort in 2017.

19. 2023Twilio

    Restructuring

    Twilio cut about 17% of its workforce in February 2023 and made further reductions later in the year as it shifted toward profitability.

20. 2024Qualcomm

    Snapdragon 8 Elite Launch

    Qualcomm launches the Snapdragon 8 Elite, its first phone chip with custom Oryon CPU cores, built on TSMC's 3nm process.

21. 2024Twilio

    CEO Transition

    Co-founder Jeff Lawson stepped down as CEO in January 2024 and Khozema Shipchandler succeeded him.

22. 2025Qualcomm

    Alphawave Semi Acquisition Completed

    Qualcomm completes its roughly $2.4B purchase of Alphawave Semi to accelerate data center connectivity products.

23. 2025Twilio

    First Full-Year GAAP Profit and Stytch Deal

    Twilio reported FY2025 revenue of $5.067 billion and net income of $33.8 million, and completed its acquisition of identity platform Stytch on November 14, 2025.

24. 2026Qualcomm

    Q2 FY2026 Results and $20B Buyback Authorization

    Qualcomm reports Q2 FY2026 revenue of $10.599B, record quarterly QCT automotive revenue, 20% year-over-year growth in combined QCT automotive and IoT revenue, and a new $20B repurchase authorization.

25. 2026Qualcomm

    Q3 FY2026 Results and $40B Non-Handset Target

    Qualcomm reports Q3 FY2026 revenue of $9.9B (down 4%), automotive revenue up 61% to $1.6B, and raises its FY2029 non-handset revenue target to $40B.

26. 2026Twilio

    Growth Re-accelerates

    Twilio reported Q2 2026 revenue of $1.50 billion, up 22%, and raised its 2026 revenue growth outlook to 18%-18.5%.

Acquisitions

Questions about Qualcomm vs Twilio