Qualcomm has agreed to acquire AI software startup Modular in an all-stock deal worth about $3.9 billion. Under the agreement, Qualcomm will issue up to 19.2 million shares to Modular’s shareholders, and the transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026 after regulatory and shareholder approvals.
Unlike many AI startups that focus on building chips, Modular specializes in software. The company developed technology that helps AI models run efficiently across different types of hardware, including processors from Nvidia, AMD, Intel and other chipmakers. It also created the Mojo programming language and the MAX AI platform, which are designed to make AI development easier and improve performance. One of Modular’s main goals has been to reduce the need for developers to rewrite software for every different processor.
Despite being only a few years old, Modular raised around $380 million from investors. Its most recent funding round, completed less than a year ago, valued the company at about $1.6 billion. Therefore, Qualcomm’s about $4 billion offer represents a valuation increase of more than 140% in a short period.
The acquisition is important because it gives Qualcomm stronger software capabilities at a time when software ecosystems are becoming just as important as hardware. Nvidia’s dominance in AI is not only due to its powerful GPUs but also because of CUDA, the software platform that developers use to build and run AI applications. Many competitors have struggled to challenge Nvidia because they lacked a comparable software ecosystem. By acquiring Modular, Qualcomm gains technology that could help developers run AI workloads across different hardware platforms, potentially making Qualcomm’s own chips more attractive.
“As agentic AI scales across data centers and edge environments, the industry is moving toward disaggregated, multi-vendor architectures that demand a more open and modern software foundation. 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,” Cristiano Amon (President and CEO, Qualcomm) noted.
Another major reason for the acquisition is talent. Qualcomm is expected to bring in Modular’s entire team of around 150 employees, including both founders — Chris Lattner and Tim Davis.
The deal also supports Qualcomm’s wider AI strategy. In recent years, the company has been working to reduce its reliance on smartphones, which still generate most of its revenue but are growing more slowly than AI-related markets. Qualcomm has expanded into AI-powered PCs, automotive technology, industrial systems, networking equipment and data-center processors. The company has also announced plans to launch new AI-focused server processors. Modular’s software could help connect these efforts by providing tools that work across cloud servers, PCs, vehicles and edge devices.
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Ashutosh is a Senior Writer at The Tech Portal, largely reporting on new tech, and intersection of technology and business. Ashutosh’s career spans across nearly a decade of technology writing across multiple platforms and languages.
