Qualcomm Nears $4 Billion Modular Deal Amid Broader AI Expansion

Qualcomm is in advanced discussions to acquire AI startup Modular in a deal valued at approximately $4 billion, according to a Bloomberg News report cited by Reuters.

If completed, the acquisition would represent a significant jump from the $1.6 billion valuation Modular secured during a funding round in September 2025. Founded in 2022, the company has raised $380 million to date, including a $250 million round last year. Reuters reported that a deal could be announced in the coming weeks, although negotiations remain ongoing and terms could still change.

Qualcomm Expands Beyond Smartphones

The reported acquisition comes as Qualcomm continues efforts to reduce its dependence on the smartphone market and expand into AI infrastructure, data center processors, and autonomous vehicle technologies.

That strategy has become increasingly visible over the past year as the company re-entered the data center market after previously withdrawing from the segment in 2018. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon described data centers as a "new growth opportunity" during the company's 2025 earnings discussions.

The move also aligns with Qualcomm's focus on AI computing beyond mobile devices. The company has increasingly emphasized inference workloads and enterprise AI infrastructure.

Modular could provide Qualcomm with software and AI infrastructure capabilities that complement its existing hardware ambitions. The startup is known for its work on AI deployment technologies, including the Mojo programming language and the MAX inference platform.

The reported valuation increase also reflects continued investor interest in companies building AI infrastructure rather than consumer-facing applications. That trend has become increasingly evident as enterprise spending shifts toward deployment systems, compute platforms, and production AI environments.

Tenstorrent Talks Signal Larger AI Infrastructure Push

The Modular discussions surfaced days after reports that Qualcomm is also exploring an acquisition of AI chip startup Tenstorrent.

According to a report by The Information, Qualcomm has held discussions about acquiring Tenstorrent in a deal that could value the company between $8 billion and $10 billion.

Founded in 2016, Tenstorrent develops AI accelerators for cloud and edge computing and is led by semiconductor veteran Jim Keller. The company raised $693 million in a Series D funding round in 2024 and has positioned itself as an alternative provider of AI computing hardware.

Taken together, the reported Modular and Tenstorrent discussions suggest Qualcomm is building a broader portfolio of AI infrastructure assets as competition intensifies across the semiconductor industry. The company has also pursued acquisitions and partnerships aimed at strengthening its presence in edge AI and enterprise computing, reflecting a strategy that spans both data center and on-device AI deployments.