At the time, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said the company would stop all nonessential work and has since announced it will spin off its chipmaking business, a part of the company that it had long touted as a strength over rival AMD and the many fabless chipmakers that rely on entities like Taiwan’s TSMC to produce all of their actual silicon.

Qualcomm has approached fellow US chipmaker Intel in recent days about a possible takeover, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Intel has suffered a string of setbacks in recent years, and a Qualcomm acquisition would be a big deal for the global chip market.

Qualcomm Inc. has approached Intel Corp. to discuss a potential acquisition of the struggling chipmaker, people with knowledge of the matter said, raising the prospect of one of the biggest-ever M&A deals.