Modal

Modal is a high-performance serverless cloud platform purpose-built for AI, machine learning, and data engineering. You write Python functions with Modal decorators and the platform handles container provisioning, GPU allocation, scaling, and teardown. No Docker, no Kubernetes, no YAML. Cold starts typically range between 2-4 seconds, and it scales back to zero when idle so you only pay for actual compute time. Workload support includes inference, model training, fine-tuning, batch processing, sandboxed code execution, and interactive notebooks. Backed by over $111 million in funding at a $1.1 billion valuation, Modal is the tool for developers who want fine-grained control over GPU compute without the burden of infrastructure management. The $30/month free compute tier is enough to prototype serious workloads.