AMD has acquired World Labs, an AI model and research lab, in an all-stock deal valued at $8.2 billion.

The deal will help AMD strengthen its ability to develop AI hardware, software, and systems that support the needs of emerging models and applications, the company said.

Founded in 2024 and led by Dr. Fei-Fei Li – known as the ‘Godmother of AI’, San Francisco-based World Labs develops “spatial-intelligence models” that generate, reconstruct, and simulate interactive 3D environments from text, image, and video inputs. The company also develops technology for robotic learning and simulation, all of which AMD said will provide it with “deeper insight into how workloads are evolving and help shape its future technology roadmaps.”

The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2026, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. Once the acquisition is complete, the World Labs team will continue its work on advanced AI model research, while Dr. Li will join AMD as an executive vice president and chief scientist, reporting to CEO Dr. Lisa Su.

“Building the compute platforms for the next generation of AI requires a deep understanding of how models are evolving,” said Dr. Su. “Fei-Fei and the World Labs team bring exceptional research leadership and model expertise. Together, we can use that insight to develop the hardware, software and systems that will power the next generation of AI and strengthen the open AI ecosystem.”

Dr. Li, co-founder and CEO of World Labs, added: “Advancing the next generation of AI technology requires close collaboration across model research, systems and compute. Joining AMD will give our team the resources and engineering depth to accelerate our research and help define the infrastructure needed for the next era of AI.”