Qualcomm is in advanced talks to buy the artificial intelligence chip startup Modular in a deal that would value the company at about $4 billion, according to Bloomberg, which cited people familiar with the matter.
The reported price marks a steep climb for Modular. According to Bloomberg, the roughly $4 billion valuation is up from $1.6 billion as recently as September 2025 — more than doubling in a matter of months. That kind of jump signals just how hungry the chip industry has become for anything tied to AI.
The talks were reported on Monday, June 22, and were also picked up by Reuters and other outlets citing the Bloomberg report. As of those reports, the discussions were described as advanced but not finalized, meaning terms could still change or the deal could fall through.
For Qualcomm, best known for the chips that power smartphones, an acquisition of Modular would deepen its push into the AI hardware market. One outlet framed the move as Qualcomm aiming to challenge Nvidia, the dominant player in AI chips, "where it actually counts" — though the specifics of Modular's technology were not detailed in these reports.
The sources here are early-stage news reports based on anonymous sources, so figures and intentions should be read as reported claims rather than confirmed facts. Neither Qualcomm nor Modular is quoted directly in the items above.
Why it matters: a $4 billion bet — and a valuation that more than doubled in months — shows how aggressively established chipmakers are spending to catch up in AI and loosen Nvidia's grip on the market.