Everyone Bought Nvidia for AI: Now AMD Could Win the $211 Billion CPU Race, Bank Of America Says
Key takeaways
- AMD’s upgraded target reflects a growing belief that AI agents will turn CPUs into a new growth engine, boosting the company’s valuation and positioning it ahead of Nvidia and Arm in the AI‑driven server market.
- Server CPU sales 2026: $61.4 billion
- Server CPU sales 2030: $210.6 billion
- AI‑related share 2026: 69%
What happened
(AMD) from $620 to $720, citing a shift in artificial‑intelligence workloads from GPUs to CPUs. The bank’s research notes that AI agents will increasingly rely on CPUs for execution tasks—calling tools, running code, and accessing databases—making CPU demand a growth engine. A seven‑year, $11.6 billion contract between Akamai Technologies (AKAM) and Anthropic, with a potential $9 billion expansion, exemplifies this trend. AMD’s broad portfolio of CPU designs positions it to capture both…
Why it matters
The AI‑driven server CPU market is projected to grow from $61.4 billion in 2026 to $210.6 billion in 2030, with AI‑related chips rising from 69% to 86% of total sales. This shift could lift average server CPU prices from $1,600 to $2,600 by 2030 and increase AI CPU units from 16 million to 53 million. AMD’s valuation…
Short-term and longer-term
Short-term. Short‑term traders should watch AMD’s next earnings report for any new AI‑centric contracts, especially the potential expansion of the Akamai‑Anthropic deal.
Longer-term. Over the next few months, AMD’s valuation could benefit from the projected surge in AI‑related server CPU sales, as the company’s diversified CPU portfolio positions it to capture both high‑core‑count and…