AMD announced the acquisition of World Labs, an artificial intelligence startup co-founded by researcher Fei-Fei Li. The value of this transaction was estimated at approximately US$ 8.2 billion, which is equivalent to about R$ 43 billion, based on a direct conversion. However, the completion of the deal is still subject to obtaining regulatory approvals, which AMD expects to occur by the end of 2026.
With this acquisition, the semiconductor manufacturer plans to integrate a highly specialized team in AI models into its structure, aiming to apply this knowledge to improving its future products, covering hardware, software, and infrastructure.
Founded in 2024, World Labs focuses its efforts on spatial intelligence. The company develops sophisticated AI models capable of generating, reconstructing, and simulating interactive three-dimensional environments using commands provided by text, images, or videos. Furthermore, the startup dedicates research to technologies related to robot learning and simulation scenario design.
This approach goes beyond the scope of large language models used in services like chatbots. The systems developed by World Labs have potential applications in various areas, including robotics, simulation, and AI solutions that can interact with real physical environments.
After the acquisition is finalized, Fei-Fei Li, co-founder and CEO of World Labs, will assume the roles of Executive Vice President and Chief Scientist at AMD. The World Labs team will continue to work on developing artificial intelligence models within AMD.
This purchase is part of a period of strong expansion of AMD's business focused on AI. Recently, the company surpassed the US$ 1 trillion market capitalization (approximately R$ 5.2 trillion), growth driven by expectations of increased sales of products intended for data centers.
Additionally, AMD has been forming partnerships to expand the use of its GPUs in both training and execution of models. A recent example is the partnership established in July with Anthropic, which foresees a computational capacity of up to 2 gigawatts based on the Instinct MI450 chips.
World Labs adds a new dimension to this corporate strategy. Instead of focusing exclusively on the infrastructure needed to run the models, AMD now has an internal team dedicated to researching and creating these AI systems themselves. According to the chip company's CEO, Lisa Su, understanding the evolution of these models can help the company determine the direction for the development of next-generation systems, software, and hardware.
