Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD), Nvidia Corp’s closest rival in artificial intelligence (AI) processors, said that US restrictions on sales to China would cost US$1.5 billion in revenue this year, a warning that clouded an otherwise upbeat outlook.
The guidance stems from an export restriction imposed last month that targeted AMD’s MI308 chips, the company said during an earnings call on Tuesday.
Data center revenue would decline in the current period, hurt by a US$700 million reduction in sales of that product, AMD said.
Photo: REUTERS
Chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) remains bullish about overall demand for AI infrastructure. She also reiterated her projection that new chips debuting soon would help boost sales in the second half of the year. However, she is facing investor concerns about trade restrictions and tariffs, as well as the challenges of competing with Nvidia in the AI chip market.
“We’re excited about the overall AI business — I think we continue to see strength there,” Su said. “I know there are some uncertainties as it relates to tariffs and other things, but this is one of those areas where from an infrastructure standpoint, there continues to be investment in AI infrastructure. And so with that, we would expect strong growth into the second half of the year.”
Last month, AMD said it expected to record an expense of about US$800 million because of the new export rules.
Second-quarter sales are forecast to be about US$7.4 billion, the company said.
That compares with an average analyst estimate of US$7.23 billion.
AMD’s first-quarter sales rose 36 percent year-on-year to US$7.4 billion, topping the US$7.12 billion estimate. Profit was US$0.96 a share, minus certain items.
Revenue in the data center division was US$3.7 billion in the period, a gain of 57 percent from the same period a year earlier, while personal computer-
related sales climbed 28 percent to US$2.9 billion.
AMD is the second-biggest provider of graphics chips, which form the basis for the AI accelerators that run in data centers.
Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Tuesday said that the market for AI chips in China could reach US$50 billion in the next couple of years, making it crucial for US companies to have access to the country.
“It would be a tremendous loss not to be able to address it as an American company,” Huang said in an interview on CNBC. “It’s going to bring back revenues. It’s going to bring back taxes. It’s going to create lots of jobs here in the United States.”
A recent increase in restrictions led Nvidia to book writedowns of US$5.5 billion related to its H20 product. That chip, a less powerful processor designed for the Chinese market, would now require special approval from regulators before it could be shipped to customers in that country.
“The best move is let Americans do American — let us go after it and win it,” he said, adding that the world is “hungry for AI. Let us get the American AI out in front of everybody right now.”
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue jumped 48 percent last month, underscoring how electronics firms scrambled to acquire essential components before global tariffs took effect. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp reported monthly sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion). That compares with the average analysts’ estimate for a 38 percent rise in second-quarter revenue. US President Donald Trump’s trade war is prompting economists to retool GDP forecasts worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from iPhone demand to computing and datacenter construction. However, TSMC — a barometer for global tech spending given its central role in the
Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer specializing in server chips, expects revenue to decline this year due to sagging demand for 5-nanometer artificial intelligence (AI) chips from a North America-based major customer, a company executive said yesterday. That would be the first contraction in revenue for Alchip as it has been enjoying strong revenue growth over the past few years, benefiting from cloud-service providers’ moves to reduce dependence on Nvidia Corp’s expensive AI chips by building their own AI accelerator by outsourcing chip design. The 5-nanometer chip was supposed to be a new growth engine as the lifecycle
RSS