Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News
      Canal+ concedes Showmax 'not a commercial success'

      Canal+ concedes Showmax ‘not a commercial success’

      29 January 2026
      Canal+ eyes billions in cost savings from MultiChoice deal

      Canal+ eyes billions of rand in cost savings from MultiChoice deal

      29 January 2026
      Cloud adoption the weak link in SA's digital government push: Microsoft - Vukani Mngxati

      Cloud adoption the weak link in SA’s digital government push: Microsoft

      29 January 2026
      Nedbank CIO Ray Naicker resigns

      Nedbank CIO Ray Naicker resigns

      29 January 2026
      BMW South Africa warns EV policy paralysis is stalling investment - Peter van Binsbergen

      BMW South Africa warns EV policy paralysis is stalling investment

      29 January 2026
    • World
      SpaceX IPO may be largest in history

      SpaceX IPO may be largest in history

      28 January 2026
      Nvidia throws AI at the weather

      Nvidia throws AI at weather forecasting

      27 January 2026
      Debate erupts over value of in-flight Wi-Fi

      Debate erupts over value of in-flight Wi-Fi

      26 January 2026
      Intel takes another hit - Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan. Laure Andrillon/Reuters

      Intel takes another hit

      23 January 2026
      ByteDance clinches US TikTok deal

      ByteDance clinches US TikTok deal

      23 January 2026
    • In-depth
      How liberalisation is rewiring South Africa's power sector

      How liberalisation is rewiring South Africa’s power sector

      21 January 2026
      The top-performing South African tech shares of 2025

      The top-performing South African tech shares of 2025

      12 January 2026
      Digital authoritarianism grows as African states normalise internet blackouts

      Digital authoritarianism grows as African states normalise internet blackouts

      19 December 2025
      TechCentral's South African Newsmakers of 2025

      TechCentral’s South African Newsmakers of 2025

      18 December 2025
      Black Friday goes digital in South Africa as online spending surges to record high

      Black Friday goes digital in South Africa as online spending surges to record high

      4 December 2025
    • TCS
      Watts & Wheels S1E2: 'China attacks, BMW digs in, Toyota's sublime supercar'

      Watts & Wheels S1E2: ‘China attacks, BMW digs in, Toyota’s sublime supercar’

      23 January 2026

      TCS+ | Why cybersecurity is becoming a competitive advantage for SA businesses

      20 January 2026
      Watts & Wheels S1E2: 'China attacks, BMW digs in, Toyota's sublime supercar'

      Watts & Wheels: S1E1 – ‘William, Prince of Wheels’

      8 January 2026
      TCS+ | Africa's digital transformation - unlocking AI through cloud and culture - Cliff de Wit Accelera Digital Group

      TCS+ | Cloud without culture won’t deliver AI: Accelera’s Cliff de Wit

      12 December 2025
      TCS+ | How Cloud on Demand helps partners thrive in the AWS ecosystem - Odwa Ndyaluvane and Xenia Rhode

      TCS+ | How Cloud On Demand helps partners thrive in the AWS ecosystem

      4 December 2025
    • Opinion
      Why Elon Musk's Starlink is a 'hard no' for me - Songezo Zibi

      Why Elon Musk’s Starlink is a ‘hard no’ for me

      26 January 2026
      South Africa's new fibre broadband battle - Duncan McLeod

      South Africa’s new fibre broadband battle

      20 January 2026
      AI moves from pilots to production in South African companies - Nazia Pillay SAP

      AI moves from pilots to production in South African companies

      20 January 2026
      South Africa's new fibre broadband battle - Duncan McLeod

      ANC’s attack on Solly Malatsi shows how BEE dogma trumps economic reality

      14 December 2025
      South Africa's new fibre broadband battle - Duncan McLeod

      Netflix, Warner Bros deal raises fresh headaches for MultiChoice

      5 December 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • IQbusiness
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Netstar
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Vodacom Business
      • Wipro
      • Workday
      • XLink
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Financial services
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Satellite communications
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Sections » AMD, OpenAI alliance marks seismic shift in global AI chip race

    AMD, OpenAI alliance marks seismic shift in global AI chip race

    The deal with AMD underscores OpenAI and the broader AI industry's voracious appetite for computing power.
    By Agency Staff6 October 2025
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    AMD, OpenAI alliance marks seismic shift in global AI chip race
    Image: Reuters

    AMD will supply AI chips to OpenAI in a multi-year deal that will bring in tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue and give the ChatGPT creator the option to buy up to roughly 10% of the chip maker.

    Shares in AMD surged more than 34% on Monday, putting them on track for their biggest one-day gain in over nine years and adding roughly US$80-billion to the company’s market value.

    The deal, latest in a string of investment commitments, underscores OpenAI and the broader AI industry’s voracious appetite for computing power as companies race towards developing AI technology that meets or exceeds human intelligence.

    We view this deal as certainly transformative, not just for AMD, but for the dynamics of the industry

    “We view this deal as certainly transformative, not just for AMD, but for the dynamics of the industry,” AMD executive vice president Forrest Norrod said on Monday. The agreement closely ties the start-up at the centre of the AI boom to AMD, one of the strongest rivals of Nvidia.

    Analysts said it was a major vote of confidence in AMD’s AI chips and software but is unlikely to dent Nvidia’s dominance, as the market leader continues to sell every AI chip it can make.

    It covers the deployment of hundreds of thousands of AMD’s AI chips, or GPUs, equivalent to 6GW, over several years beginning in the second half of 2026.

    AMD said OpenAI would build a 1GW facility based on its forthcoming MI450 series of chips beginning next year, and that it would begin to recognise revenue then.

    Tens of billions of dollars

    AMD executives expect the deal to net tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue. Because of the ripple effect of the agreement, AMD expects to receive more than $100-billion in new revenue over four years from OpenAI and other customers, they said.

    The chip maker is expected to report revenue of $32.8-billion this year, according to LSEG data. In contrast, analysts are expecting Nvidia to report revenue of $206.3-billion for the current fiscal year.

    “AMD has really trailed Nvidia for quite some time, so I think it helps validate their technology,” said Leah Bennett, chief investment strategist at Concurrent Asset Management. Shares of Nvidia dipped more than 1%.

    Read: Nvidia bets $100-billion on OpenAI

    OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the AMD deal will help his start-up build enough AI infrastructure to meet its needs. It was not immediately clear how OpenAI would fund the massive deal.

    OpenAI, which is valued at $500-billion, generated around $4.3-billion in revenue in the first half of 2025 and burned through $2.5-billion in cash, according to media reports.

    As part of the arrangement, AMD issued a warrant that gives OpenAI the ability to buy up to 160 million shares of AMD for $0.01 each over the course of the chip deal. The warrant vests in tranches based on milestones that the two companies have agreed on.

    The first tranche will vest after the initial shipment of MI450 chips set for the second half of 2026. The remaining milestones include specific AMD stock price targets that escalate to $600/share for the final instalment of stock to unlock.

    In September, Nvidia announced a deal to supply OpenAI with at least 10GW worth of its systems.

    OpenAI has worked with AMD for years, providing inputs on the design of older generations of AI chips

    In contrast with the start-up’s deal with AMD where it will take a stake in the chip maker, Nvidia will invest $100-billion in the ChatGPT parent under the terms of the agreement announced in September.

    Taking a stake in AMD could give OpenAI “the power to potentially influence corporate strategy. With Nvidia, OpenAI is simply the client and not a part-owner,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.

    OpenAI has worked with AMD for years, providing inputs on the design of older generations of AI chips such as the MI300X. The San Francisco-based AI company has been taking a number of steps to ensure it has the chips needed for its future needs.

    Altman has floated expectations of reaching 250GW of compute in total by 2033, The Information has reported.  — Max A Cherney, with Deepa Seetharaman, Arsheeya Bajwa and Sukriti Gupta, (c) 2025 Reuters

    Get breaking news from TechCentral on WhatsApp. Sign up here.



    AMD Nvidia OpenAI Sam Altman
    WhatsApp YouTube Follow on Google News Add as preferred source on Google
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleSABC warns its future is at risk as delays to key bill drag on
    Next Article Former Icasa CEO to head MultiChoice LicenceCo

    Related Posts

    Reports of the smartphone's impending death are greatly exaggerated

    Reports of the smartphone’s impending death are greatly exaggerated

    28 January 2026
    Nvidia throws AI at the weather

    Nvidia throws AI at weather forecasting

    27 January 2026
    Intel takes another hit - Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan. Laure Andrillon/Reuters

    Intel takes another hit

    23 January 2026
    Company News
    Smartphone affordability: South Africa's new economic divide - PayJoy

    Smartphone affordability: South Africa’s new economic divide

    29 January 2026
    The control layers that make AI usable in real-world logistics - Sterdts

    The control layers that make AI usable in real-world logistics

    29 January 2026
    WeBuyCars expands national footprint with two landmark supermarkets

    WeBuyCars expands national footprint with two landmark supermarkets

    28 January 2026
    Opinion
    Why Elon Musk's Starlink is a 'hard no' for me - Songezo Zibi

    Why Elon Musk’s Starlink is a ‘hard no’ for me

    26 January 2026
    South Africa's new fibre broadband battle - Duncan McLeod

    South Africa’s new fibre broadband battle

    20 January 2026
    AI moves from pilots to production in South African companies - Nazia Pillay SAP

    AI moves from pilots to production in South African companies

    20 January 2026

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Latest Posts
    Canal+ concedes Showmax 'not a commercial success'

    Canal+ concedes Showmax ‘not a commercial success’

    29 January 2026
    Canal+ eyes billions in cost savings from MultiChoice deal

    Canal+ eyes billions of rand in cost savings from MultiChoice deal

    29 January 2026
    Cloud adoption the weak link in SA's digital government push: Microsoft - Vukani Mngxati

    Cloud adoption the weak link in SA’s digital government push: Microsoft

    29 January 2026
    Nedbank CIO Ray Naicker resigns

    Nedbank CIO Ray Naicker resigns

    29 January 2026
    © 2009 - 2026 NewsCentral Media
    • Cookie policy (ZA)
    • TechCentral – privacy and Popia

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Manage consent

    TechCentral uses cookies to enhance its offerings. Consenting to these technologies allows us to serve you better. Not consenting or withdrawing consent may adversely affect certain features and functions of the website.

    Functional Always active
    The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
    Preferences
    The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
    Statistics
    The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
    Marketing
    The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
    • Manage options
    • Manage services
    • Manage {vendor_count} vendors
    • Read more about these purposes
    View preferences
    • {title}
    • {title}
    • {title}