Breaking News
Qualcomm has agreed to acquire AI software startup Modular in an all-stock transaction valued at nearly $4 billion, strengthening its push into enterprise AI and data center computing with software designed to run AI models across multiple chip architectures.
Under the agreement announced Wednesday, Qualcomm will issue up to 19.2 million shares of its common stock to Modular's equity holders. Based on Qualcomm's latest closing share price, the transaction is valued at about $3.92 billion.
The acquisition gives Qualcomm access to Modular's software platform, which enables AI models to run across different processors without requiring developers to rewrite code for each chip architecture. The capability positions Qualcomm to compete more directly with Nvidia's CUDA software ecosystem, which has become a key factor behind Nvidia's dominance in AI computing by tightly integrating developers with its hardware.
Modular focuses primarily on AI inference software, helping customers deploy trained AI models across hardware from multiple vendors, including Nvidia, AMD and other chipmakers. The company has positioned itself as a hardware-agnostic software layer that gives enterprises greater flexibility in choosing AI infrastructure.
"We believe the future belongs to developer-friendly, horizontal platforms that can run across diverse compute environments and give customers real choice in how and where they deploy AI," Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said.
The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year.
The acquisition marks Qualcomm's latest effort to diversify beyond its core smartphone chip business, which continues to account for most of its revenue. The company has been expanding into AI infrastructure and recently unveiled processors aimed at the data center market, with commercial shipments expected later this year.
Inference has emerged as one of the fastest-growing segments of the AI market as enterprises increasingly deploy trained models into production. Unlike AI training, inference workloads require software capable of efficiently running models across diverse hardware environments, making cross-platform software increasingly important.
The Modular acquisition complements Qualcomm's broader AI strategy as it seeks a larger share of enterprise AI infrastructure spending and reduces its dependence on the cyclical smartphone market.
Under the agreement announced Wednesday, Qualcomm will issue up to 19.2 million shares of its common stock to Modular's equity holders. Based on Qualcomm's latest closing share price, the transaction is valued at about $3.92 billion.
The acquisition gives Qualcomm access to Modular's software platform, which enables AI models to run across different processors without requiring developers to rewrite code for each chip architecture. The capability positions Qualcomm to compete more directly with Nvidia's CUDA software ecosystem, which has become a key factor behind Nvidia's dominance in AI computing by tightly integrating developers with its hardware.
Modular focuses primarily on AI inference software, helping customers deploy trained AI models across hardware from multiple vendors, including Nvidia, AMD and other chipmakers. The company has positioned itself as a hardware-agnostic software layer that gives enterprises greater flexibility in choosing AI infrastructure.
"We believe the future belongs to developer-friendly, horizontal platforms that can run across diverse compute environments and give customers real choice in how and where they deploy AI," Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said.
The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year.
The acquisition marks Qualcomm's latest effort to diversify beyond its core smartphone chip business, which continues to account for most of its revenue. The company has been expanding into AI infrastructure and recently unveiled processors aimed at the data center market, with commercial shipments expected later this year.
Inference has emerged as one of the fastest-growing segments of the AI market as enterprises increasingly deploy trained models into production. Unlike AI training, inference workloads require software capable of efficiently running models across diverse hardware environments, making cross-platform software increasingly important.
The Modular acquisition complements Qualcomm's broader AI strategy as it seeks a larger share of enterprise AI infrastructure spending and reduces its dependence on the cyclical smartphone market.
See What’s Next in Tech With the Fast Forward Newsletter
Tweets From @varindiamag
Nothing to see here - yet
When they Tweet, their Tweets will show up here.
