The race for AI dominance just got more intense. Chipmaker AMD is joining forces with OpenAI, the brains behind ChatGPT, in a bold move. They plan to make advanced AI chips for huge data centers. This partnership directly challenges NVIDIA, which currently leads the AI chip market. The alliance is set for five years.
The two companies aim to build a strong AI computing foundation. This foundation will meet the massive power needs of AI development. Their first joint effort will be the AMD Instinct MI450 chip. Look for it to arrive in the second half of 2026. This new chip will power data centers needing more than six gigawatts of energy.
This deal is a big win for AMD financially. The company expects to earn tens of billions of US dollars from this agreement. Specific details are still under wraps. However, the news excited investors. AMD’s stock price instantly climbed 24% after the announcement.
OpenAI also gains a strategic advantage. The deal gives them an option to buy AMD shares. This option covers 160 million shares. That equals about 10% of all AMD’s stock.
Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, sees this as a crucial step. He believes it will unlock the processing power needed for AI to reach its full potential. He praised AMD’s leadership in high-performance chips. He said this partnership will speed up AI progress and bring advanced AI benefits sooner.
Interestingly, OpenAI is playing the field. Just last month, they announced a strategic partnership with NVIDIA. NVIDIA is AMD’s biggest competitor. That earlier announcement also focused on AI chips for data centers. It involved even more power, over 10 gigawatts. However, a final agreement with NVIDIA has not yet been reached.