Qualcomm inks deal for AI startup Modular to bolster software stack
Visitors stand at the Qualcomm kiosk at Bharat Mandapam, one of the venues for the Artificial Intelligence Impact Summit, on February 18, 2026 in New Delhi, India.
Bhawika Chhabra | Reuters
Qualcomm It said it was buying the infrastructure startup on Wednesday modular increasing AI software capabilities in the midst of data center deployment.
The deal will better position Qualcomm in the inference market and help companies run AI more efficiently.
“We believe the future belongs to developer-friendly, horizontal platforms that can run across a variety of computing environments and offer customers real choice in how and where to deploy AI,” Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said in a statement.
The deal is expected to be completed in the second half of 2026.
Qualcomm did not provide financial information of the transaction. Bloomberg reported It was reported earlier this week that Qualcomm and Modular were in advanced talks for a deal worth around $4 billion.
Reuters calculations valued the acquisition at $3.92 billion.
As token costs skyrocket and strain corporate budgets, businesses are looking for ways to optimize their use of AI.
At the same time, Qualcomm is looking to expand its position in the data center market as the rapid growth of artificial intelligence increases demand for infrastructure that can handle large amounts of data.
The company is holding an investor day on Wednesday.
