Paul Jacobs, former chairman of Qualcomm, wants to buy the chip company, which is worth more than $88 billion.
Jacobs sent written communication to Qualcomm's board that he wants to take the company private, sources told CNBC. He had indicated he was interested in doing this once before, the sources said.
"I think [Jacobs] snapped," a source close to the board said of the highly improbably leveraged buyout.
Jacobs resigned last week from his role as executive chairman, as the San Diego-based chipmaker resisted an aggressive takeover attempt from Singapore's Broadcom. That bid was shut down by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. earlier this week amid national security concerns.
The Financial Times first reported Jacobs has approached multiple investors to get funding for a Qualcomm acquisition bid.
Jacobs did not return a call for comment.
Dow Jones reported on Friday Jacobs may step down from Qualcomm's board. The board is currently meeting to discuss his fate, Dow Jones said.
Qualcomm's stock price was up 1.5 percent Friday.