AMD Acquiring ZT Systems to Challenge Nvidia’s AI Dominance

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has announced its acquisition of ZT Systems, a leading provider of AI infrastructure for hyperscale computing companies in a US$4.9bn deal, marking a significant step in AMD’s long-term AI strategy and positioning the company to compete more effectively with industry leader Nvidia.

The acquisition comes at a crucial time in the AI industry’s development. As demand for AI-powered solutions continues to surge across various sectors, the need for robust, scalable infrastructure has never been greater. AMD’s move to acquire ZT Systems is a clear indication of the company's intent to capture a larger share of the data centre AI accelerator market, which is projected to reach US$372.9bn by 2029.

ZT Systems brings to the table over 15 years of experience in designing and deploying data centre AI compute and storage infrastructure at scale for some of the world's largest cloud companies. This expertise is expected to complement AMD's existing silicon and software capabilities, potentially allowing the company to offer more comprehensive solutions to its customers.

“Our acquisition of ZT Systems is the next major step in our long-term AI strategy to deliver leadership training and inferencing solutions that can be rapidly deployed at scale across cloud and enterprise customers,” comments Dr Lisa Su, AMD's Chair and CEO. “ZT adds world-class systems design and rack-scale solutions expertise that will significantly strengthen our data centre AI systems and customer enablement capabilities.”

AMD bringing the challenge to Nvidia

The move is likely to be welcomed by enterprises seeking alternatives to Nvidia’s AI platforms. Rodrigo Liang, CEO and co-founder of SambaNova Systems, a competitor in the AI chip space, notes: “Enterprises don't want to be locked into a single chip vendor; they want the choice to implement the best full-stack AI systems that solve their AI challenges.” AMD's acquisition of ZT Systems could provide just that - a viable alternative in a market largely dominated by Nvidia.

However, challenging Nvidia's stronghold in the AI chip market will be no small feat. Nvidia has established itself as the go-to provider for AI accelerators, with its GPUs powering many of the world’s most advanced AI systems.

By integrating ZT Systems' expertise in systems design and rack-scale solutions, AMD aims to offer not just competitive chips, but complete, optimised AI infrastructure solutions: an approach that could appeal to cloud and enterprise customers looking to deploy AI at scale more efficiently.

The acquisition also demonstrates AMD's commitment to strengthening its AI capabilities through strategic investments. Over the past year, the company has invested more than US$1bn to expand its AI ecosystem and bolster its software capabilities.

Post-acquisition, ZT Systems will be integrated into AMD’s Data Center Solutions Business Group. Frank Zhang, CEO of ZT Systems, will lead the manufacturing business, while Doug Huang, ZT’s President, will oversee the design and customer enablement teams. Both executives will report to AMD Executive Vice President and General Manager Forrest Norrod.

Interestingly, AMD plans to seek a strategic partner to acquire ZT Systems’ US-based data centre infrastructure manufacturing business., suggesting that AMD is primarily interested in ZT’s design and customer enablement capabilities, rather than its manufacturing operations.

The transaction is expected to be accretive on a non-GAAP basis by the end of 2025, indicating AMD’s confidence in the long-term value of this acquisition. However, the true test will be in how effectively AMD can leverage ZT Systems’ expertise to accelerate the deployment of its AI solutions and gain market share from Nvidia.

Frank Zhang, CEO of ZT Systems, expressed enthusiasm about the merger: “We are excited to join AMD and together play an even larger role designing the AI infrastructure that is defining the future of computing. AMD shares our vision for the important role our technology and our people play in designing and building the computing infrastructure powering the largest data centres in the world.”

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