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Applied AI·October 19, 2026·1 min read

AI infrastructure startup Modal says it plans to start using Nvidia's Vera CPUs for the first time for hosting agents, alongside existing Intel and AMD chips

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Nvidia winning CPU slots for hosting agents shows how tightly compute vendors want to couple GPUs, CPUs, and agent workloads. Infra teams should expect more vertically-optimized stacks where the CPU choice is part of the AI platform decision, not an afterthought.

Applied AI

Sources: DeepSeek and Huawei are collaborating on future AI chip designs; DeepSeek plans to start using Ascend 950DT for pre-training as soon as 2026's end

A model lab shaping Huawei’s Ascend 950DT roadmap is a direct attempt to close the loop between frontier training needs and domestic silicon—reducing dependence on US-controlled GPUs. Anyone exposed to China-facing AI demand should assume a more credible non-Nvidia path by 2027 and plan for a bifurcated tooling and optimization stack.