By Shaun Pruitt
Publication Date: 2026-09-29 18:24:00
Advanced Micro Devices AMD) and Nvidia NVDA) continue to expand beyond AI chips as the semiconductor giants position themselves for the next phase of artificial intelligence.
Yesterday, AMD agreed to acquire AI research company World Labs for approximately $8.2 billion, while Nvidia recently announced a $12.93 billion deal for open-source AI platform Hugging Face. Both transactions remain subject to closing conditions.
Although both deals deepen their exposure to AI, AMD and Nvidia are taking noticeably different approaches.
Notably, AMD has been the much stronger performer in 2026, with shares soaring over 180% year to date compared with a 24% gain for NVDA.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
AMD Adds World Labs’ AI Research Expertise
AMD’s all-stock acquisition of World Labs is expected to close by the end of 2026 and will bring renowned AI researcher Fei-Fei Li, often referred to as the “Godmother of AI”, to the company as executive vice president and chief scientist.
World Labs specializes in spatial-intelligence models capable of generating, reconstructing, and simulating interactive 3D environments from text, images, and video. Its expertise also extends into robotic learning and simulation, giving AMD greater exposure to emerging areas such as physical AI and robotics.
Strategically, the deal could help AMD better understand how…
