Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, said on Wednesday that he was “surprised” by his rival AMD’s new multibillion-dollar partnership with OpenAI. This deal could see the AI giant take a 10% stake in the chipmaker.
“It’s imaginative, it’s unique and surprising,” Huang said in an interview. “I’m surprised that they would give away 10% of the company before they even built it. And so anyhow, it’s clever, I guess.”
The landmark deal, announced on Monday, will see OpenAI buy a huge number of AMD’s AI chips over the next few years. In return, OpenAI gets the option to acquire up to 160 million AMD shares. The news sent AMD’s stock soaring, up an incredible 35% so far this week.
The partnership is a direct challenge to Nvidia’s long-held dominance in the AI chip market. For years, Nvidia has been the undisputed king, but this deal gives AMD a major foothold with one of the most important players in the AI world.
The news comes just after Nvidia announced its own massive deal with OpenAI, a plan to invest up to $100 billion in the AI startup over the next decade. Huang was quick to point out that his deal is “very different,” as it allows Nvidia to sell its chips directly to OpenAI. He also took a slight jab at OpenAI’s finances, saying of their deal, “They don’t have the money yet.”
Huang also confirmed that Nvidia is investing in Elon Musk’s AI startup, xAI, and praised his other recent investments in the AI space. However, the big takeaway is clear: the AI chip war is intensifying, and AMD has just dealt a major blow.
