AMD has announced the acquisition of World Labs for about 8.2 billion dollars, fully paid in shares. This move marks a major step in AMD's strategy to enhance its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. The deal is expected to be finalized by the end of 2026, pending regulatory approvals and other standard conditions. World Labs brings expertise in spatial intelligence and "world models"—systems that can generate, reconstruct, and simulate 3D environments. These technologies are useful for robotics, simulation, and physical AI applications. World Labs was founded and led by Fei-Fei Li, a professor at Stanford University and a prominent figure in AI research. The lab specializes in creating models that can generate interactive 3D environments from text, images, or videos. It also develops technologies for robotic learning and simulation. As part of the acquisition, Fei-Fei Li will join AMD as executive vice president and chief scientist, reporting directly to CEO Lisa Su. This acquisition is part of AMD’s larger plan to build a full AI value chain, covering everything from adaptable semiconductors and network infrastructure to inference software, AI models, and data center systems. Since 2022, AMD has acquired several companies to strengthen its position in the AI field. These include Xilinx in 2020 for about 49 billion dollars, Pensando Systems in 2022 for 1.9 billion dollars, and more recently Mipsology, Nod.ai, Silo AI, ZT Systems, Enosemi, Brium, and Untether AI Team. World Labs operates in a similar area to AMI Labs, a startup founded by Yann LeCun after he left Meta. Both labs work on "world models" and AI that can understand and interact with the physical world. However, World Labs focuses specifically on spatial intelligence and the creation or simulation of 3D environments, while AMI Labs takes a broader approach to machine intelligence, incorporating memory, reasoning, planning, and safety. AMD’s acquisition of World Labs is expected to bolster its efforts to create an AI infrastructure for an open ecosystem. This positions the company against competitors who are pursuing more integrated, closed-system approaches. By adding World Labs' capabilities, AMD aims to offer a more comprehensive and flexible AI platform for a wide range of applications.