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
      Eskom fixed the fleet and the customers left

      Eskom fixed the fleet and the customers left

      7 August 2026
      DStv chops channels as Canal+ leans harder on sport

      DStv chops channels as Canal+ leans harder on sport

      7 August 2026
      Starlink LEO rival gaining momentum

      Starlink LEO rival gaining momentum

      7 August 2026
      ByteDance goes big - very big - on AI

      ByteDance goes big – very big – on AI

      7 August 2026
      ICT is becoming the centre of gravity at Reunert - Anthonie de Beer and Rob Godlonton

      ICT is becoming the centre of gravity at Reunert

      6 August 2026
    • World
      Meta AI will now tell parents if their teen is in crisis

      Meta AI will now tell parents if their teen is in crisis

      17 July 2026
      IBM shares crash 25% as AI upends software spending - Arvind Krishna

      IBM shares crash 25% as AI upends software spending

      15 July 2026
      Jony Ive's first OpenAI device: an AI smart speaker - Jony Ive and Sam Altman

      Jony Ive’s first OpenAI device: an AI smart speaker

      15 July 2026
      Stripe, Advent in talks to buy PayPal for $53-billion

      Stripe, Advent in talks to buy PayPal for $53-billion

      15 July 2026
      Memory crisis sends smartphone market into steep decline

      Memory crisis sends smartphone market into steep decline

      13 July 2026
    • In-depth
      The plan to stop AI from breaking the world - Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis. Image: John Sears

      The plan to stop AI from breaking the world

      16 July 2026
      The internet has a Strait of Hormuz problem

      The internet has a Strait of Hormuz problem

      15 July 2026
      AI boom sparks rally, frenzy and fear

      AI boom sparks rally, frenzy and fear

      11 June 2026
      Every plug-in hybrid on sale in South Africa, ranked by price - Lamborghini Temerario

      Every plug-in hybrid on sale in South Africa, ranked by price

      7 June 2026
      What Wi-Fi 8 will mean for wireless networks

      What Wi-Fi 8 will mean for wireless networks

      1 June 2026
    • TCS
      TCS+ | Specops' Darren James on continuous trust in an AI world

      TCS+ | Specops’ Darren James on continuous trust in an AI world

      7 August 2026
      TCS+ | How AI is turning hardware into a subscription service - Shane van der Merwe Merchant West

      TCS+ | How AI is turning hardware into a subscription service

      6 August 2026
      TCS+ | Why South African workers must become supervisors of digital labour - Accelera Digital Group Cliff de Wit

      TCS+ | Why South African workers must become supervisors of digital labour

      31 July 2026
      TCS | Rapid deployment rules can't work without municipalities: ACT - Nomvuyiso Batyi

      TCS | Icasa’s rules skip the real bottleneck: ACT

      30 July 2026
      TCS+ | iStore Business on why Apple makes sense for SMEs - Sudesh Pillay and Tamia Nontsikelelo

      TCS+ | iStore Business on why Apple makes sense for SMEs

      30 July 2026
    • Opinion
      The author, Jannie van Zyl

      Selling vapour is corporate suicide in slow motion

      16 July 2026
      Brazil's online gambling crackdown is a lesson for South Africa

      How Amazon outmanoeuvred Starlink in South Africa

      15 July 2026
      The Popia problem with agentic AI - Herman Haasbroek

      The Popia problem with agentic AI

      14 July 2026
      The author, Fanie van Rooyen

      South Africa can still catch the AI wave – here’s how

      7 July 2026
      The author, Fanie van Rooyen

      The AI utopia South Africa can’t afford

      1 July 2026
    • Company Hubs
      • 1Stream
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • Ascent Technology
      • AvertITD
      • BBD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CM Telecom
      • Contactable
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • HOSTAFRICA
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • IQbusiness
      • Iris Network Systems
      • Kaspersky
      • LSD Open
      • Mitel
      • NEC XON
      • Netstar
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Telviva
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Vodacom Business
      • Vox
      • 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
      • HealthTech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Policy and regulation
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Satellite communications
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
      • Watts & Wheels
    • 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.

    Follow TechCentral on Google News Add TechCentral as your preferred source on Google


    AMD Nvidia OpenAI Sam Altman
    WhatsApp YouTube
    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

    ByteDance goes big - very big - on AI

    ByteDance goes big – very big – on AI

    7 August 2026
    Google's Gemini leadership team has left the building - Demis Hassabis

    Google’s Gemini leadership team has left the building

    6 August 2026
    Solly Malatsi stakes South Africa's AI future on staying neutral

    Solly Malatsi stakes South Africa’s AI future on staying neutral

    5 August 2026
    Company News
    African Bank signs on as GEC+Africa 2026 partner

    African Bank signs on as GEC+Africa 2026 partner

    7 August 2026
    What a cloud review reveals about how a company actually runs - LSD Open

    What a cloud review reveals about how a company actually runs

    6 August 2026
    Manufacturing from a garage is now a realistic business plan - MaxLaser

    Manufacturing from a garage is now a realistic business plan

    6 August 2026
    Opinion
    The author, Jannie van Zyl

    Selling vapour is corporate suicide in slow motion

    16 July 2026
    Brazil's online gambling crackdown is a lesson for South Africa

    How Amazon outmanoeuvred Starlink in South Africa

    15 July 2026
    The Popia problem with agentic AI - Herman Haasbroek

    The Popia problem with agentic AI

    14 July 2026

    Subscribe to Updates

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

    Latest Posts
    Eskom fixed the fleet and the customers left

    Eskom fixed the fleet and the customers left

    7 August 2026
    DStv chops channels as Canal+ leans harder on sport

    DStv chops channels as Canal+ leans harder on sport

    7 August 2026
    TCS+ | Specops' Darren James on continuous trust in an AI world

    TCS+ | Specops’ Darren James on continuous trust in an AI world

    7 August 2026
    Starlink LEO rival gaining momentum

    Starlink LEO rival gaining momentum

    7 August 2026
    © 2009 - 2026 NewsCentral Media
    Built and maintained by Chronon
    • 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}