AMD signs AI chip-supply deal with OpenAI, gives it option to take a 10% stake

Artificial intelligence (AI) start-up OpenAI has agreed to purchase 6 GW of AMD Instinct Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) in a multi-year deal that could see the company take a 10% stake in the $270 billion chipmaker over time.

The first 1 GW Rollout of chips is set to begin in the second half of 2026.

The deal offers OpenAI an opportunity to take a stake in one of Nvidia's most formidable rivals and is a powerful endorsement of AMD's AI chips and software.

The companies did not put a total dollar figure on the transaction, but OpenAI executives estimate that 1GW of capacity costs about $50 billion to bring online, with two-thirds of that spent on chips and the infrastructure to support them.

Under this definitive agreement, OpenAI will work with AMD as a core strategic compute partner to drive large-scale deployments of AMD technology, starting with the AMD Instinct Mi450 series and Rack-Scale AI solutions. Shares of AMD jumped more than 23% in premarket trading.

"We view this deal as certainly transformative, not just for AMD, but for the Dynamics of the industry," said AMD executive vice president Forrest Norrod.

Reference Sources

1. thestarmy - AMD signs AI chip-supply deal with OpenAI, gives it option to take a 10% stake
2. aawsat - AMD Signs AI Chip-Supply Deal with OpenAI, Gives It Option to Take a 10% Stake
3. cnbc - OpenAI looks to take 10% stake in AMD through AI chip deal worth billions
4. ft - OpenAI targets 10% AMD stake via multibillion-dollar chip deal
5. thestar - AMD and OpenAI Announce Strategic Partnership to Deploy 6 Gigawatts of AMD GPUs

US Government Shutdown May Last Weeks, Analysts Warn

The ongoing US government shutdown is causing concern among Trump administration officials and top Republicans, as most Federal operations remain shuttered.

The White House says plans are being finalized for the firing of thousands of Federal workers as Democrats refuse to give in over their demands for continued government health care subsidies in the budget. Shutdowns are a periodic feature of gridlocked Washington when the two parties cannot agree on budget priorities.

All non-essential workers are temporarily furloughed, or left without pay, while the parties work out their differences.

This time, the stakes are higher, with President Donald Trump telling reporters Sunday that the administration had already started to permanently fire.

The bitter tribalism that drove the United States into a government shutdown is putting compromise out of reach, analysts say, and threatening to turn a staring contest between the Democrats and Donald Trump's Republicans into a protracted crisis.

The shutdown risks delaying crucial economic data and could potentially muddy the Federal Reserve's policy-easing outlook. Few on Wall Street expect the Washington impasse to derail a rally that has lifted the S&P 500 by 14% to repeated record highs, but with little in the way of major data or earnings, the Capitol Hill drama is set to dominate investor focus.

Reference Sources

1. bangkokpost - Republicans warn of pain ahead as US shutdown faces second week
2. abc - Hassett says layoffs will come if Trump thinks shutdown negotiations 'are going nowhere'
3. aawsat - US Government Shutdown May Last Weeks, Analysts Warn
4. thestarmy - Wall Street steady as Washington tensions rise
5. huffpost - Senator Tells Voters Exactly Who’s To Blame For Government Shutdown: 'Tsunami Of Trump's Creation'

BYD's UK sales soar 880%, making it the EV-maker's largest market outside China

Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD sold a record 11,271 vehicles in the UK last month, up from 1,150 in the same month last year, bringing its yearly total to just over 35,000 in the country, making the UK its largest market outside of China.

The Chinese carmaker, which undercuts most of its rivals on price, saw its market share jump to 3.6% in September, putting it in second place behind Tesla in terms of EV sales.

The UK government in July announced a £650Mn grant designed to boost the sales of electric vehicles, but excluded cars made in China because of the emissions produced in the manufacturing process.

The discounts, which reach up to £3,750 per vehicle, helped to boost total EV sales in the UK to a monthly record in September.

If BYD continues to grow sales at even a small fraction of the pace it has achieved so far, it could soon overtake its more traditional rival.

BYD's hybrid Seal U Dm-I and electric Sealion 7 proved popular among UK consumers and dominated sales, the company said.

It also opened a battery facility in the UK last month, where it services electric buses.

Reference Sources

1. ft - UK becomes BYD’s largest international market after sales surge
2. telegraph - Chinese electric carmaker’s UK sales rocket tenfold
3. cnbc - BYD's UK sales soar 880%, making it the EV-maker's largest market outside China

The CommonWealth English daily news digest is a service curated by CommonWealth English team with the help of AI tools.