Qualcomm to buy AI startup Modular

Reuters

Wed, June 24, 2026 astatine 7:07 AM CDT 1 min read

June 24 (Reuters) - Qualcomm said connected Wednesday it would bargain AI startup Modular successful an ‌all-stock woody valued astatine astir $4 billion, arsenic ‌the chipmaker looks to diversify beyond its halfway smartphone business.

Buying ​Modular pits Qualcomm against CUDA, the bundle level that has helped underpin Nvidia's AI dominance by tying millions of developers to the $5 trillion company's chips.

As ‌part of the ⁠deal, Qualcomm expects to contented up to 19.2 cardinal shares of its communal ⁠stock to Modular's equity holders.

The transaction is valued astatine astir $3.92 billion, according to a Reuters calculation ​based connected ​Qualcomm's past closing stock ​price.

Qualcomm has been seeking ‌a larger foothold successful the data-center marketplace arsenic request for generative AI surges, and is already targeting the marketplace with processors for information centers and different AI chips with shipments planned by ‌the extremity of the year.

Modular's ​software is chiefly utilized to ​run, oregon "infer", AI ​models, a marketplace that has emerged ‌as the latest battleground for ​chipmakers arsenic ​Nvidia looks to ward disconnected competitors that are selling customized chips developed for in-house use.

The ​deal is ‌expected to adjacent successful the 2nd fractional of ​this year.

(Reporting by Anhata Rooprai successful Bengaluru; ​Editing by Devika Syamnath)