Qualcomm completes Modular acquisition and names Chris Lattner EVP of AI software

Qualcomm closed its acquisition of Modular Inc. on July 29, 2026 and named Modular co-founder Chris Lattner executive vice president of advanced AI software and platforms.

The all-software deal, first announced as an agreement on June 24, hands the chipmaker Modular’s AI development stack: the Mojo programming language, the MAX inference framework and Modular Cloud. Financial terms were not disclosed. Qualcomm is best known for the Snapdragon mobile chips inside most Android phones, and the purchase is its clearest move yet to push from the edge into data-center AI.

The appointment gives Lattner, who co-founded Modular and ran it as chief executive, authority over software meant to tie Qualcomm silicon together across devices and servers. Modular’s Mojo, MAX and Modular Cloud brands will keep their existing names.

Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said the combination is aimed at delivering AI across data centers, edge infrastructure and personal and industrial systems, according to the company’s announcement. Modular has pitched Mojo and MAX as tools for building and running AI models faster across different hardware.

The bet is on software as the differentiator rather than raw chips. Whether Qualcomm can turn a respected developer toolchain into data-center revenue is unproven, and it now competes head-on with Nvidia, whose software ecosystem is deeply entrenched with AI developers. The test will be design wins, not org charts.