Modal picks Nvidia Vera CPUs for AI agents

Cloud-computing startup Modal has selected Nvidia’s Vera central processors to power its AI agent infrastructure, giving Nvidia a foothold in a server chip market long dominated by Intel and AMD. According to company reports, Modal’s internal testing showed that Vera could double its AI agent workload capacity compared with its older Intel and AMD configurations. Integrating the processors required significant software changes.

Nvidia is expanding beyond its core GPU business to pursue a larger share of the data center industry, which it estimates is worth $200 billion. The company has set an internal revenue target of $20 billion from Vera chip sales for the current fiscal year, underscoring its ambitions in server infrastructure.

Modal is not abandoning Intel and AMD. It plans to route workloads to whichever hardware performs each task best, reducing dependence on a single supplier. The approach reflects a growing emphasis among data center operators on performance per watt. Nvidia’s broader opportunity will depend on sustaining its performance advantage and attracting more large-scale customers while rivals improve their offerings.