- AMD has started a four-part bond sale worth between $4 billion and $5 billion to help grow its AI and data center business.
- According to Bloomberg, this could be AMD’s largest investment-grade bond sale to date, but the final amount may change depending on demand.
- This comes after Intel’s $20 billion stock sale, showing that chipmakers are increasingly turning to capital markets to fund AI growth.
AMD launched a four-part senior unsecured notes sale worth between $4 billion and $5 billion, according to Bloomberg. This could be AMD’s largest investment-grade bond sale, but the final amount depends on investor demand.
The bond sale has three-, five-, seven-, and ten-year options, with early pricing talks between about 70 and 115 basis points above US Treasuries. Bank of America, JPMorgan, Barclays, and Wells Fargo are handling the sale, which is expected to close on August 17, according to Reuters.
AMD also has $875 million in bonds due in September 2026, supporting its plan to use some of the proceeds for debt repayment.
Why AMD needs the cash now
The timing matches AMD’s recent guidance. In its August 5 earnings call, AMD predicted third-quarter revenue would beat Wall Street’s expectations and said it expects data center sales to more than double by 2027. To reach this goal, AMD needs to invest in foundry capacity, packaging, and data center partnerships before the revenue comes in. The bond sale helps cover this funding gap.
This funding is also important for AMD’s strategy. The company is competing with Nvidia for AI chip market share and going up against Intel in the CPU market. Recent moves, like a $5 billion investment in Anthropic, a deal with Microsoft for its new Helios platform, and a £2 billion UK AI infrastructure pledge announced by CEO Lisa Su, all depend on the same capital that now needs to be replaced.
A wider industry trend
AMD isn’t the only company looking for more funding. Earlier this week, Intel raised $20 billion through a larger stock sale to support its contract chipmaking plans. The fact that two major competitors are turning to capital markets just days apart shows that spending on AI infrastructure is now more than even the biggest chipmakers can cover with their own cash flow.
The company is also now an active investor in this space, having joined Liquid AI’s $250 million Series A and backed Featherless.ai’s open-source infrastructure round. The main difference is that AMD is now using, at the corporate level, the same approach startups use early on: borrowing against future growth to pay for current expansion.
If both AMD and Intel need significant new funding to meet AI infrastructure demand, it raises the question: does this open up more opportunities for smaller chip and infrastructure startups, or does it make competition for resources, talent, and customers even tougher across the industry?
