AMD seals multibillion AI chip deal with OpenAI

A smartphone with the AMD logo displayed on a computer motherboard, March 6, 2023.
Reuters

United States chipmaker AMD will supply artificial intelligence chips to OpenAI in a multi-year agreement that could generate tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue and give the ChatGPT maker the option to acquire up to 10% of the company.

Shares of AMD surged more than 34% on Monday following the announcement, marking their biggest one-day gain in over nine years and adding roughly $80 billion to the company’s market value.

The deal underscores the AI sector’s soaring demand for computing power as companies race to develop systems that match or surpass human intelligence. “We view this deal as transformative — not just for AMD, but for the industry’s dynamics,” said Forrest Norrod, AMD’s executive vice president.

The agreement deepens ties between OpenAI and one of Nvidia’s key rivals, following Nvidia’s own major investments in the company. Analysts say the move is a strong vote of confidence in AMD’s chips and software, though it is unlikely to threaten Nvidia’s market dominance.

AMD expects the partnership to bring in tens of billions annually and more than $100 billion in new revenue over four years from OpenAI and other clients. The company is forecast to post $32.78 billion in revenue this year, compared with Nvidia’s projected $206.26 billion.

“AMD has really trailed Nvidia for quite some time, so this helps validate their technology,” said Leah Bennett, chief investment strategist at Concurrent Asset Management. Nvidia shares slipped over 1% after the news.

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