Why AI Compute Comes in Rectangles — Erik Bernhardsson, Modal
Modal CEO Erik Bernhardsson discusses the structural dynamics of AI compute, contrasting the rigid multi-year capacity contracts sold across the industry with Modal's serverless aggregation model. He explores the economics of cloud capacity procurement, the explosive rise of ephemeral agent sandboxes, and why modern infrastructure requires rethinking developer experience, forward-deployed engineering, and security.
- Attackers breached a user application hosted on Modal to target Hugging Face, using the compromised environment as an open springboard to gain internet access. Read →
- NScale expanded its pipeline to hundreds of billions of dollars despite starting with almost zero physical capacity. Read →
- Modal treats code review as optional, allowing engineers to ship directly to production unless they specifically request a second pair of eyes. Read →
- Modal sandboxes started as an underused side project in 2023, but they now generate one third of the company's total revenue. Read →
- Modal grew its forward-deployed engineering group from 4 to 24 engineers in a single year while deliberately hiring zero dedicated product managers. Read →