Qualcomm, a semiconductor company best known for its snapdragon chips, will acquire AI software startup Modular for around $3.92 billion, the two companies announced Tuesday.
The San Diego-based Qualcomm expects to issue 19.2 million shares to Modular’s equity holders in the all-stock transaction.
“Together, we can make AI development more accessible and performant for developers, strengthen portability across hardware, and help grow an open ecosystem that broadens participation and speeds innovation,” said Chris Lattner, cofounder and CEO of Modular.
Silicon Valley’s Modular was founded in 2022 by Chris Lattner and Tim Davis, who met during their time as Google engineers.
Lattner said fragmented software wasn’t designed to scale across all the AI hardware that’s now available. Modular positions its platform for these software companies to use as a neutral layer that supports all kinds of AI chips….