Qualcomm, diversifying from mobile phones, to supply chips for BMW self-driving cars

Nov 16 (Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) on Tuesday said that German automaker BMW (BMWG.DE) will use its chips in its next generation of driver-assistance and self-driving systems. San Diego-based Qualcomm is the world's biggest supplier of chips for mobile phones but has been diversifying its business, with more than a third of its chip sales coming from sources other than makers of handsets. Qualcomm's announcement of the BMW win came before an investor presentation where it detailed how the company is working with firms like Meta Platforms Inc (FB.O)on virtual reality hardware and with Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O)on Windows laptops that use Qualcomm chips. Qualcomm Chief Executive Cristiano Amon said he believes the addressable market for the firm's technologies is now $700 billion, seven times higher than the phone chip industry alone. "We've never had so many end-market opportunities for Qualcomm as we have today," Amon said.