AMD Doubles Down on AI Talent Grab – Snatches Untether AI’s Engineering Team
AMD’s acquisition spree shows no signs of slowing. The chipmaker just poached Untether AI’s engineering team, signaling another aggressive move in the AI arms race.
Why it matters: With Nvidia dominating AI hardware, AMD is playing catch-up by buying brains instead of building from scratch. A smart (if expensive) shortcut.
The cynical take: Wall Street will cheer this ‘strategic hiring’ while ignoring the R&D budget hemorrhage. But in tech, talent acquisitions are the new R&D—just ask Zuckerberg.
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This acquisition follows AMD’s recent purchase of compiler startup Brium, as part of its plan to better compete with Nvidia (NVDA). Interestingly, Untether AI’s chips, built on an “at-memory” architecture, had shown significant gains in performance and energy efficiency. Indeed, its speedAI240 Slim card, for example, delivered industry-leading results in MLPerf benchmarks while using less power than competing solutions. The card had already been adopted by companies like J-Squared Technologies and Ola-Krutrim, with the latter having also partnered with Untether to co-develop next-gen data center solutions.
Furthermore, Untether AI had built partnerships with firms like Ampere Computing, Arm (ARM), and NeuReality. This was because its chips addressed a growing demand for AI processors that consume less power than traditional GPUs, which are straining modern data center power limits. Nevertheless, AMD will now integrate Untether’s expertise into its product portfolio in order to help expand its AI capabilities across a wider range of markets.
Is AMD a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on AMD stock based on 22 Buys, 10 Holds, and zero Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average AMD price target of $126.55 per share implies 8.9% upside potential.
