OpenAI has partnered with AMD in a major move to deploy 6 gigawatts of AI chips, setting the stage for one of the largest AI infrastructure expansions yet.
Quick Summary – TLDR:
- OpenAI will use 6 gigawatts of AMD GPUs, starting with MI450 chips in 2026.
- The multi-year agreement could generate over $100 billion in revenue for AMD over four years.
- The partnership includes a warrant for OpenAI to purchase 160 million AMD shares, tied to milestone achievements.
- This deal positions AMD as a direct challenger to Nvidia’s AI dominance.
What Happened?
OpenAI and AMD have signed a multi-year, multi-generation deal that will see the ChatGPT maker deploy AMD GPUs at massive scale. The first phase begins in the second half of 2026 with 1 gigawatt of AMD’s upcoming Instinct MI450 GPUs. Over the life of the agreement, OpenAI will scale that to 6 gigawatts, either through direct purchases or via its cloud partners.
Excited to partner with AMD to use their chips to serve our users!
— Sam Altman (@sama) October 6, 2025
This is all incremental to our work with NVIDIA (and we plan to increase our NVIDIA purchasing over time).
The world needs much more compute…
AMD and OpenAI Deepen Strategic Ties
This isn’t just a chip sale. The deal represents a deep hardware and software collaboration between AMD and OpenAI. AMD will work closely with OpenAI to optimize its product roadmap, beginning with the MI450 chips and expanding into future generations. The goal is to build rack-scale AI solutions capable of powering next-gen generative AI models.
AMD and OpenAI have already collaborated on earlier GPU series like the MI300X and MI350X, but this new partnership signals a major scale-up.
Key highlights:
- First 1 GW deployment begins 2H 2026.
- OpenAI issued a warrant for up to 160 million AMD shares.
- Warrant tranches vest based on milestone deployments and AMD’s share price performance.
- Total projected revenue impact for AMD: over $100 billion across OpenAI and other customers.
A Bold Challenge to Nvidia
This announcement arrives as Nvidia continues to dominate the AI chip space. Nvidia recently revealed its own strategic deal with OpenAI to provide 10 gigawatts of AI data center infrastructure, including its upcoming Vera Rubin chips. Yet, with this AMD partnership, OpenAI appears committed to diversifying its chip suppliers and reducing reliance on a single vendor.
OpenAI is also reportedly developing custom AI chips in collaboration with Broadcom, showing how important compute flexibility and supply chain control have become in the AI arms race.
Wall Street Reacts
AMD’s stock surged over 35% in pre-market trading following the announcement, potentially positioning the company for its highest market valuation since March 2024. AMD executives are optimistic, forecasting tens of billions in new annual revenue from the OpenAI deal alone.
AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su said:
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman added:
SQ Magazine Takeaway
Honestly, this is a huge deal. OpenAI putting its trust in AMD not only reshapes the competitive landscape but also shows how serious they are about scaling AI to entirely new levels. Nvidia may still lead, but AMD just took a major step forward. And with OpenAI’s demand for compute growing fast, the real winner might be the AI industry as a whole. I’m excited to see how this unfolds. If AMD delivers, this could be the spark that truly levels the playing field.
