AMD Acquires ZT Systems for $4.9 Billion

AMD recently announced its plans to acquire ZT Systems' infrastructure manufacturing business in New Jersey, with the help of a partner. The acquisition deal includes a US$400 million payment, contingent on post-closing milestones. This move is part of AMD's strategy to strengthen its position in the data center AI acceleration market, which is projected to reach US$400 billion by 2027.

The acquisition aligns with AMD's core expertise as a vendor of x86 and AI processor chips. By integrating ZT Systems' manufacturing capabilities, AMD aims to enhance its competitiveness against industry rival Nvidia. The company's latest offering, the MI300, is positioned to lead in AI performance, further solidifying its presence in the market.

The AMD board of directors has unanimously approved the acquisition, which is anticipated to be finalized in the first half of 2025, pending regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Lisa Su, AMD's chair and CEO, expressed enthusiasm about the strategic move, emphasizing the long-term AI strategy to provide cutting-edge training and inferencing solutions for cloud and enterprise customers.

"Our acquisition of ZT Systems marks a significant milestone in our AI roadmap, enabling us to offer scalable solutions for data center AI infrastructure," Su stated. The integration of ZT Systems' expertise in data center systems with AMD's existing product portfolios is expected to streamline the delivery of end-to-end AI infrastructure solutions to customers through collaboration with OEM and ODM partners.

Upon completion of the acquisition, ZT Systems will become part of the AMD Data Center Solutions Business Group. Frank Zhang, CEO of ZT Systems, will oversee the manufacturing business, while Doug Huang, President of ZT Systems, will lead the design and customer enablement teams. This strategic alignment is poised to drive innovation and accelerate the development of AI hardware and software solutions.