Modal CEO Reveals How AI's 'New Era of Software' Is Reshaping Cloud Infrastructure

AI cloud startup Modal has secured $750 million in funding at a $15.75 billion post-money valuation, signaling massive investor confidence in the infrastructure layer powering the artificial intelligence boom. The company's CEO, Erik Bernhardsson, joins Ed Ludlow on "Bloomberg Tech" to discuss what's driving this surge in demand and how Modal is positioning itself for the next phase of AI development. Bernhardsson explains the significance of Modal's more than 3 billion AI sandboxes—secure virtual environments where AI agents can execute code and eventually take on longer-running tasks. He describes how increasingly capable AI agents will require robust infrastructure to operate safely and efficiently, and why inference and reinforcement learning workloads are becoming critical components of the AI stack. The conversation also touches on what Bernhardsson calls a "new era of software," where AI systems don't just assist with coding but actively participate in building and running applications. This shift has profound implications for how companies think about cloud infrastructure, security, and the future of software development itself.