How much is AMD paying for World Labs?

AMD is paying about $8.2 billion for World Labs, entirely in AMD stock. AMD announced the definitive agreement on 28 September 2026 and expects the World Labs acquisition to close by the end of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. The companies did not disclose any further financial terms.

What will Fei-Fei Li do at AMD?

Fei-Fei Li, who founded World Labs in 2024, joins AMD as executive vice president and chief scientist, reporting directly to CEO Lisa Su. Justin Johnson and Ben Mildenhall continue to lead the World Labs team inside AMD, according to the World Labs announcement.

What happens to World Labs' Marble after the AMD deal?

Neither AMD nor World Labs has said what changes for Marble, World Labs' tool for generating 3D worlds used in entertainment and robot-training simulation. The World Labs announcement mentions Marble Labs, the Atlas project and Spark as ongoing work but gives no product roadmap. Until the deal closes, World Labs remains a separate company.

Why does a chipmaker want a world-model lab?

AMD says building compute for the next generation of AI requires a deep understanding of how models are evolving, especially as AI moves into reasoning, robotics, simulation and physical AI. Owning World Labs gives AMD's chip roadmap direct input from frontier world-model research, and TechCrunch notes it helps AMD compete with Nvidia's open Cosmos world models.

AMD · 2026-09-28 · major

AMD to buy World Labs for $8.2B — Fei-Fei Li becomes AMD's chief scientist

AMD agreed to buy World Labs, Fei-Fei Li's spatial-intelligence lab behind Marble, in an all-stock deal worth about $8.2 billion. Li becomes AMD's EVP and chief scientist. The deal should close by the end of 2026.

World Labs illustration of a globe above layered computer chip parts, titled World Labs is Joining AMD

A chipmaker buys a world-model lab so frontier model research shapes its hardware roadmap.

Key specs

Deal value	$8.2B (all stock)

Quick facts

Buyer	AMD
Target	World Labs (San Francisco, founded 2024)
Deal	All stock, about $8.2 billion
Expected close	End of 2026, pending regulatory approval
Fei-Fei Li's new role	EVP and chief scientist, reporting to Lisa Su
Main product	Marble (3D world generation)

What is it?

AMD signed a definitive agreement on 28 September 2026 to acquire World Labs for about $8.2 billion in stock. World Labs builds spatial-intelligence models that generate, reconstruct and simulate interactive 3D environments from text, image and video, plus technology for robot learning and simulation. Its founder, Fei-Fei Li, joins AMD as executive vice president and chief scientist.

How does it work?

The World Labs team keeps doing model research inside AMD, with Justin Johnson and Ben Mildenhall continuing to lead it. AMD says understanding frontier workloads first-hand will shape how it designs AI chips, software and systems. The two companies already had a partnership on training and inference optimisation on AMD GPUs.

Why does it matter?

Chipmakers are now buying model labs, not just selling to them: TechCrunch notes the deal helps AMD answer Nvidia, which already offers open-weight world models such as Cosmos. Both companies describe the goal as an end-to-end open AI ecosystem from hardware to open models. Teams building on Marble should watch for product and platform changes once the deal closes, as neither side has yet said what happens to it.

Who is it for?

developers using world models, robotics and simulation teams

Frequently asked questions

How much is AMD paying for World Labs?: AMD is paying about $8.2 billion for World Labs, entirely in AMD stock. AMD announced the definitive agreement on 28 September 2026 and expects the World Labs acquisition to close by the end of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. The companies did not disclose any further financial terms.
What will Fei-Fei Li do at AMD?: Fei-Fei Li, who founded World Labs in 2024, joins AMD as executive vice president and chief scientist, reporting directly to CEO Lisa Su. Justin Johnson and Ben Mildenhall continue to lead the World Labs team inside AMD, according to the World Labs announcement.
What happens to World Labs' Marble after the AMD deal?: Neither AMD nor World Labs has said what changes for Marble, World Labs' tool for generating 3D worlds used in entertainment and robot-training simulation. The World Labs announcement mentions Marble Labs, the Atlas project and Spark as ongoing work but gives no product roadmap. Until the deal closes, World Labs remains a separate company.
Why does a chipmaker want a world-model lab?: AMD says building compute for the next generation of AI requires a deep understanding of how models are evolving, especially as AI moves into reasoning, robotics, simulation and physical AI. Owning World Labs gives AMD's chip roadmap direct input from frontier world-model research, and TechCrunch notes it helps AMD compete with Nvidia's open Cosmos world models.