OpenAI and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) have struck a major deal that could give Sam Altman’s company a 10% ownership stake in the chipmaker.
Following the announcement, AMD’s stock surged 23.71% on Monday.
Under the agreement, OpenAI will use 6 gigawatts worth of AMD’s Instinct graphics processing units (GPUs) over the next several years, spanning multiple generations of AMD hardware. The partnership will begin with an initial 1-gigawatt deployment scheduled for the second half of 2026.
“We have to do this,” said OpenAI President Greg Brockman in an interview with CNBC’s Squawk on the Street. “This is core to our mission. If we truly want to scale and reach all of humanity, this is what it takes.”
Brockman also noted that OpenAI has been unable to roll out several ChatGPT features and other potential revenue-generating products because of limited computing resources.
As part of the agreement, AMD has issued OpenAI a warrant for up to 160 million shares of its common stock. The vesting milestones will depend on both the volume of GPU deployment and AMD’s share price.
The first portion will vest once the initial full gigawatt of GPUs is deployed, with additional portions unlocking as OpenAI ramps up to 6 gigawatts and meets technical and commercial goals for large-scale deployment.
If OpenAI exercises the entire warrant, it would hold about 10% of AMD’s outstanding shares.
While OpenAI confirmed the deal is valued in the billions, it declined to share the exact figure.
