According to Reuters, Qualcomm said on Wednesday that it will acquire Nuvia Inc, a chip start-up company, for $1.4 billion.

Nuvia was founded by three former semiconductor executives responsible for the iPhone chip at Apple, and plans to apply Nuvia's technology to smartphones, laptops and car processors.

Qualcomm plans to use Nuvia processors extensively, saying that these products will power flagship smartphones, next-generation notebook computers, infotainment systems, driver assistance systems, and other applications.

The report said the deal is significant because it may help reduce Qualcomm's dependence on ARM, which has been acquired by Qualcomm's competitor Nvidia for $40 billion.