Advanced Micro Devices announced an $8.2 billion all-stock agreement on Monday to buy World Labs, bringing the AI research company in San Francisco founded by Fei-Fei Li into the chipmaker. The purchase would give AMD research capabilities in spatial intelligence, a developing area with potential to influence demand for AI computing infrastructure, software and chips.
The purchase represents AMD’s largest AI acquisition push so far, as major U.S. technology companies spend heavily to secure engineering and research expertise, including from relatively young businesses.
AMD already has a financial relationship with the San Francisco startup. It participated in World Labs’ $1 billion fundraising earlier this year.
For AMD, the research offers a way to better understand the computing requirements of new AI applications. The company said those insights would inform development plans spanning its chips, software and broader systems.
Spatial intelligence seeks to equip AI with the ability to represent three-dimensional settings and interactions in the physical world. World Labs is pursuing that work through a “world model” designed to simulate 3D environments.
At a presentation earlier this year, Li and AMD Chief Executive Lisa Su demonstrated Marble, a World Labs model that generated a three-dimensional scene using only a handful of images. Li explained that detailed digital environments reflecting physical laws could allow intelligent agents—including robots, vehicles and tools—to learn before real-world deployment, improving their safety.
Li, whose computer-vision research helped establish her prominence in AI, is set to become AMD’s executive vice president and chief scientist once the acquisition is completed. She will report directly to Su.
AMD is anticipated to complete the transaction before the end of 2026.
