AMD to acquire World Labs in $8.2 billion all-stock deal
AMD has signed a definitive agreement to acquire World Labs, the AI model and research lab led by Fei-Fei Li. The all-stock transaction is valued at approximately USD 8.2 billion and adds a team of researchers and model experts to AMD, strengthening its ability to develop AI hardware, software and systems around the needs of emerging models and applications.
As AI expands into reasoning, robotics, simulation and physical AI, the demands on compute infrastructure are becoming more diverse, according to a press release from AMD. The company expects World Labs' model development expertise to give it deeper insight into how workloads are evolving, and to help shape its technology roadmaps.
"Building the compute platforms for the next generation of AI requires a deep understanding of how models are evolving. Fei-Fei and the World Labs team bring exceptional research leadership and model expertise," says Lisa Su, Chair and CEO of AMD.
San Francisco-based World Labs develops spatial intelligence models that generate, reconstruct and simulate interactive 3D environments from text, image and video inputs, as well as technology for robotic learning and simulation. After the transaction closes, the team will continue to focus on AI model research, while Fei-Fei Li joins AMD as Executive Vice President and Chief Scientist, reporting to Lisa Su.
"Joining AMD will give our team the resources and engineering depth to accelerate our research and help define the infrastructure needed for the next era of AI," says Fei-Fei Li, co-founder and CEO of World Labs.
The deal is expected to close by the end of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
