- AMD stock jumped over 30 per cent after OpenAI announced plans to take up to a 10 per cent stake.
- OpenAI will deploy 6 gigawatts of AMD GPUs, starting with 1 gigawatt in 2026.
- AMD issued OpenAI warrants for 160 million shares, tied to performance milestones.
- The partnership helps OpenAI diversify chip supply beyond Nvidia.
AMD CEO Lisa Su called the deal a “true win-win” for advancing global AI infrastructure.OpenAI and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) have entered a major agreement that could see Sam Altman's company take up to a 10 per cent ownership stake in the chipmaker. Following the news, AMD's stock surged over 30 per cent on Monday (6).
Under the deal, OpenAI will use 6 gigawatts of AMD's Instinct GPUs over several years and generation of hardware, starting with a 1-gigawatt rollout in 2026.
“We have to do this,” said OpenAI President Greg Brockman on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street. “This is so core to our mission if we really want to be able to scale to reach all of humanity, this is what we have to do.”
Brockman added that OpenAI cannot currently launch many features in ChatGPT and other products due to a shortage of computing power.
As part of the agreement, AMD issued OpenAI a warrant for up to 160 million shares of its stock. The shared will vest based on deployment progress and AMD's stock price milestones. The first batch will unlock with the completion of the first full gigawatt deploment, while others will follow as OpenAI scales further.
If OpenAI excercises all its rights, it could own about 10 per cent of AMD based on current outstanding shares. Although OpenAI called the deal 'worth billions,' it did not share the exact figure.
AMD CEO Lisa Su said partnerships like this are crucial to AI's future growth. “AI is on a 10-year growth path, and at the end of the day, you need the foundational compute to do that,” she told CNBC. “You need partnerships like this that really bring the ecosystem together to ensure that, you know, we can really get the best technologies out there. So we’re super excited about the opportunities here.”
The partnership strengthens AMD's position as a key supplier in the AI industry and helps OpenAI reduce dependence on a single vendor. Recently, OpenAI's recent infrastructure plans now total $1 trillion in new spending, covering massive data center buildouts using both Nvidia and AMD chips. The company is also in talks with Broadcom to design custom processors for future AI models.
For AMD, the deal is a major milestone after years of trailing behind Nvidia. “It creates a true win-win enabling the world’s most ambitious AI buildout and advancing the entire AI ecosystem,” Su said.
