Qualcomm Inc.’s finance chief Akash Palkhiwala is weighing how a lot to allocate toward the company’s escalating automotive-chip business as shopper demand from customers for smartphones–a important generator of income for the technology firm–continues to slow. The San Diego-based mostly company–best recognized for its cellular-phone chips–in current quarters has pushed to diversify its business by providing chips for vehicles and web-related equipment. The technique, which was set in location by Main Executive Cristiano Amon final November, preceded the decrease in demand from customers for smartphones in modern months as consumers go on to grapple with superior inflation and financial uncertainty. Qualcomm in July slice its forecast for smartphone shipments for…