Meta may trade AI chips for shares in its latest AMD deal (www.engadget.com)

Meta has entered an agreement with AMD to purchase up to six gigawatts of AI chips, specifically targeting AMD's Instinct GPUs optimized for Meta's workloads. This deal is significant as it allows Meta the potential to acquire up to 10 percent equity in AMD—up to 160 million shares—if certain GPU shipment milestones are met. The first wave of chip deployment is set for the second half of 2026, and the partnership will also see Meta amplify its use of AMD's EPYC CPUs, positioning itself as a major customer for AMD's upcoming sixth-generation processors. This arrangement highlights a strategic shift within the AI/ML community, as companies like Meta seek to diversify their chip supply away from NVIDIA, a dominant player in the market. Analysts note that such partnerships create complex interdependencies between AI entities and chip manufacturers, which could pose risks if AI demand does not meet high market expectations. Meta’s move to collaborate with AMD showcases a growing trend among tech giants to build more resilient infrastructures while navigating the competitive landscape of AI hardware.