AMD's CEO Drives Tech's Bleeding Edge

AMD CEO Lisa Su's leadership has propelled the company to new heights, earning her the "CEO of the Year" award. Since taking the CEO role in 2014, Su has revitalized AMD, transforming it into a formidable rival to Nvidia. This year has been particularly remarkable, marked by game-changing deals and outstanding financial performance.

AMD's market capitalization crossed the $1 trillion mark in late September 2026, underscoring its market strength. The company recently reported a strong third quarter with sales surging 45% year-over-year to a record $13.38 billion, driven by its Data Center segment, which saw revenue jump 97% to $8.5 billion. This growth is attributed to high demand for EPYC server processors and Instinct MI450 AI accelerators.

Strategic acquisitions and partnerships are central to AMD's aggressive expansion. In 2026, AMD acquired World Labs for $8.2 billion, gaining an AI innovator led by AI researcher Fei-Fei Li, who will now serve as EVP and chief scientist. Furthermore, AMD announced a significant tie-up with Anthropic, committing up to $5 billion in investment and planning to deploy Anthropic's AI systems with AMD's Instinct MI450 GPUs, a deal potentially worth tens of billions.

Looking ahead, AMD anticipates continued strong performance, with projections for 50% sequential growth in data centers in the fourth quarter of 2026 and revenue growing more than 80% by 2027. The company has also unveiled its next-generation AI chips and Helios rack-scale AI systems, with Microsoft beginning deployment across Azure AI services in the latter half of 2026. Su remains confident in her long-term vision, emphasizing the increasing importance of computing power and AI.