AMD to Acquire Fei-Fei Li's World Labs for $8.2 Billion in an All-Stock Deal

AMD agreed on September 28, 2026 to acquire World Labs for about $8.2 billion, paid entirely in stock.

Fei-Fei Li Joins AMD's Leadership

Fei-Fei Li, World Labs' co-founder and CEO, will become AMD's executive vice president and chief scientist after the deal closes, reporting directly to CEO Lisa Su.

What World Labs Builds

World Labs develops spatial-intelligence models that generate, reconstruct and simulate interactive 3D environments from text, image and video, along with technology for robotic learning and simulation.

AMD's Second-Largest Deal

Only the roughly $50 billion Xilinx acquisition, closed in 2022, was larger. The companies already worked together — AMD invested in World Labs' $1 billion round in February, and part of World Labs' model ran on AMD Instinct accelerators. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2026, subject to approvals.

Chipmakers Want the Models Too

Buying a model lab lets a chipmaker shape hardware around where AI is heading — here, simulation and physical AI for robotics. For manufacturers and logistics firms, that is the area to watch for the next wave of practical automation.