OpenAI Raises the Stakes for AMD’s Race to Catch Nvidia – WSJ
In a major AI industry shake-up, OpenAI is teaming up with AMD — and the deal has sent AMD’s stock skyrocketing nearly 24%.
OpenAI, led by Sam Altman, has struck a groundbreaking deal with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) that could give it a 10% ownership stake in the chipmaking giant. This collaboration marks one of the most significant partnerships in the artificial intelligence hardware space to date.
What’s the Deal All About?
Under the agreement, OpenAI will deploy up to 6 gigawatts of AMD’s Instinct GPUs over the next few years — starting with an initial 1-gigawatt rollout in 2026. These high-performance chips will power OpenAI’s growing infrastructure for models like ChatGPT.
In return, AMD has issued OpenAI a warrant for up to 160 million AMD shares, tied to performance and share price milestones. If OpenAI meets these targets, it could become a 10% shareholder in AMD, giving it a strategic edge in the AI chip race.
Why AMD’s Stock Is Skyrocketing
Following the announcement, AMD’s shares jumped 23.7% on Monday, reflecting investor excitement about the potential of this partnership. With OpenAI’s massive demand for GPUs, this deal could translate into billions of dollars in revenue and solidify AMD as a key player in the AI revolution.
AMD CEO Lisa Su called it a “true win-win”, highlighting how the collaboration will “advance the entire AI ecosystem” while ensuring access to the “foundational compute” that modern AI demands.
Why OpenAI Needs AMD
According to OpenAI President Greg Brockman, the company is already facing limits in rolling out new ChatGPT features due to a lack of computing power. This deal gives OpenAI more flexibility and reduces its dependence on a single supplier — particularly Nvidia, which has dominated the AI chip market.
Just two weeks ago, OpenAI announced a $100 billion agreement with Nvidia for hardware and equity. That deal reserved a 10-gigawatt portion of OpenAI’s massive 23-gigawatt infrastructure roadmap, estimated to cost around $1 trillion overall.
What It Means for the AI Industry
This partnership strengthens AMD’s position as a serious competitor to Nvidia, while helping OpenAI diversify its chip sources. It also signals the rapid buildout of AI infrastructure worldwide — a development that could reshape global computing capacity over the next decade.
OpenAI is also reportedly in talks with Broadcom to design custom chips for future models, further expanding its hardware footprint.
The Bigger Picture
The AI industry is becoming a tightly connected ecosystem, where companies trade capital, compute power, and equity in a circular loop. Nvidia supplies chips. Oracle builds data centers. AMD and Broadcom produce alternative hardware. And OpenAI drives the demand behind it all.
As analysts point out, this web of interdependence means that any weak link could have ripple effects across the AI economy — but for now, the excitement is undeniable.
With this deal, AMD officially joins the AI elite, securing a key partnership with the world’s most influential AI company. It’s not just a financial win — it’s a turning point in the global AI chip race.
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