Qualcomm

Top Executive: Steven Mollenkopf, CEO

Although Qualcomm faces tight competition in the Internet of Things segment from the standpoint of semiconductors, the San Diego-based company touts a number of offerings and services surrounding wearables, smart cities and smart homes. With its existing expertise in LTE modems for the smartphone market, Qualcomm is well-positioned to keep up with the growth of cellular in IoT, as well as the proliferation of radio bands in 4G and 5G.

Qualcomm's low-power Snapdragon processors are built to power the consumer devices behind IoT -- including every­thing from washers to refrigerators. Qualcomm partners also have access to the company's M1 modems Cat 1 LTE technol­ogy at its core.

At press time, the company said it plans to acquire NXP Semiconductors for $47 billion -- the biggest deal yet in the chip industry -- as it seeks to rev up its sales channels around IoT.