AMD Overtakes Intel in Data Center Chip Sales

In a significant development for the tech industry, AMD has achieved a milestone by surpassing Intel in revenue from data center chips. This marks the end of Intel’s long-standing dominance in a sector it once considered a stronghold.

Historically, Intel has been the leading player in the server and data center market. Despite AMD steadily gaining ground in the laptop and desktop segments, data center chips remained a challenge. Analyst Sravan Kundojjala noted that AMD's success in this crucial sector is a notable shift.

For the first time, AMD outperformed Intel in data center revenue during the third quarter of 2024. Although AMD's revenue in this area is still smaller compared to NVIDIA's networking revenue, this achievement is a stunning indicator of the market's changing landscape.

As Kundojjala highlights, while NVIDIA has seen substantial success, the news of Intel’s sharp revenue decline suggests ongoing challenges for the company.

AMD’s strong performance is attributed to its ability to attract high-profile clients away from Intel due to the superior performance and energy efficiency of its chips. A prime example is Google Cloud, which opted for AMD’s EPYC processors to enhance its Tau Virtual Machines (VMs) starting in mid-2021.

“At Google Cloud, our customers’ compute needs are evolving,” stated Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud. “By collaborating with AMD, Google Cloud customers can now leverage amazing performance for scale-out applications, with great price-performance, all without compromising x86 compatibility.”

Similarly, other major companies such as Meta and Cloudflare have also turned to AMD for their processing needs. Cloudflare pointed out that while Intel’s processors offered comparable performance, the energy consumption was significantly higher, making Intel's solutions less appealing.

AMD's enhanced reputation and concerted efforts have clearly paid off, enabling the company to claim victory in a fiercely competitive market that was once regarded as unassailable for Intel.

AMD, Intel, DataCenter