OpenAI lifts AMD with big chip deal

OpenAI bestowed its blessings and backing onanother tech company Monday, inking a deal with chip-maker Advanced Micro Devices, instantly making itone of the hot companies investors hope will be at theforefront of the artificial intelligence boom.

- By NILESH CHRISTOPHER

The shares of AMD soared more than 30% after the company behind Chat-GPT said it plans to take up to a 10% stake in the chip-maker. This marks the latest example of Sam Altman's multibillion-dollar deal-making frenzy that’s reshaping the American chip industry, where the upstart OpenAI seems to have the power to pick new winners, revive laggards and move public markets through its partnerships.

According to the multiyear deal, OpenAI will purchase AMD’s AI chips that will go into data center facilities that, in total, can draw six gigawatts of electrical power to run the chips. The first one-gigawatt deployment will begin with AMD Instinct M1450 GPUs in the second half of 2026.

“This partnership is a major step in building the compute capacity needed to realize AlI’s full potential,” Altman, chief executive of OpenAl, said in a news release. “AMD's leadership in high-performance chips will enable us to accelerate progress and bring the benefits of advanced AI to everyone faster.”