OpenAI has signed a sweeping hardware agreement with AMD, committing to deploy as much as 6 gigawatts of the chipmaker’s high-performance GPUs across multiple generations. In return, OpenAI receives warrants to acquire up to 160 million shares of AMD — potentially giving it a 10% stake — tied to deployment scale and share price targets.
AMD’s shares soared as much as 37% in early trading before settling above +26%. Rival Nvidia, which recently struck its own mega-deal with OpenAI, slipped roughly 1.5% on the news.
Deal Drivers and Terms
Under the agreement, OpenAI’s deployment of AMD GPUs will begin in the second half of 2026, ramping gradually until the full 6-gigawatt target is achieved.
The equity component is structured via warrants, allowing OpenAI to convert them into up to 160 million AMD shares depending on hardware deployment levels and stock-price milestones.
AMD CEO Lisa Su emphasized that the pact “enables the world’s most ambitious AI buildout.” CFO Jean Hu added that the deal is “expected to deliver tens of billions of dollars in revenue” to AMD.
For OpenAI, the deal complements its broader infrastructure expansion — part of a $1 trillion-plus push that includes previous arrangements with Nvidia to boost compute capacity.
In recent years, AMD has aggressively invested in accelerator chips for AI inference and training, though Nvidia still dominates the market. Nvidia’s data-center business reported more than $115 billion in annual revenue last year, while AMD’s AI revenue is projected to reach around $6.5 billion in 2025.
Implications for Markets, AI, and AMD
The deal shifts competitive dynamics in the AI chip market, signaling OpenAI’s confidence in diversifying beyond a sole reliance on Nvidia. For AMD, the agreement offers both a major revenue opportunity and a stronger strategic foothold in the rapidly growing AI infrastructure space.
Investors responded swiftly, driving AMD shares higher as analysts reassessed its growth outlook and market share potential. Nvidia’s minor decline underscores the shifting alliances within the AI supply chain.
Still, the structure of the warrants introduces uncertainty. The equity upside depends on OpenAI meeting both deployment and price milestones, meaning the benefits could take years to fully materialize.
The partnership also highlights broader industry themes: massive capital requirements, energy demand challenges, and intensifying competition for chip supply.
As previously covered, the global AI race now depends as much on access to hardware and power as on model innovation. With this deal, AMD moves from a supporting player to a core contender in the AI infrastructure arena.
