AMD acquires world labs for $8.2 billion to boost AI chip development

AMD has acquired World Labs, a leading developer of deep learning models designed to understand physical reality, in an $8.2 billion deal. The acquisition, announced today, will see Fei-Fei Li, founder of World Labs, join AMD as executive vice president and chief scientist. Li, a Stanford computer science professor, emphasized the need to scale World Labs’ technical breakthroughs beyond the lab, stating that the partnership aims to accelerate the future by widening reach and getting closer to hardware. World Labs’ first product, Marble, is designed for entertainment and robot training simulations. The deal is expected to close by year-end, pending regulatory approval. AMD aims to strengthen its position against Nvidia in the AI chip market by leveraging World Labs’ expertise in world models, which are critical for deploying generative AI on robotic platforms.