AMD’s Lisa Su Has Already Beaten Intel—Now She’s Taking on Nvidia
Sunnyvale, CA – March 20, 2025
Lisa Su, the formidable CEO of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), has cemented her legacy as one of Silicon Valley’s most transformative leaders by steering her company past longtime rival Intel. Now, with her sights set on a new horizon, Su is positioning AMD to challenge Nvidia, the undisputed titan of the artificial intelligence (AI) chip market, in a high-stakes battle for supremacy in the semiconductor industry.
When Su took the helm at AMD in October 2014, the company was teetering on the edge of irrelevance. Its market capitalization languished at a mere $2 billion, dwarfed by Intel’s $180 billion valuation, and its chips were struggling to compete in the fiercely competitive processor market. Fast forward a decade, and under Su’s leadership, AMD has executed one of the most remarkable turnarounds in tech history. Today, the company boasts a market cap exceeding $200 billion, surpassing Intel’s, and its cutting-edge processors power everything from laptops to gaming consoles and data centers.
Su’s strategy was rooted in a relentless focus on innovation and execution. Her decision to prioritize the Zen architecture—a bold bet on high-performance computing—paid off spectacularly. Launched in 2017, Zen-powered Ryzen processors outpaced Intel’s offerings in speed and efficiency, clawing back market share in the consumer and enterprise sectors. By 2024, AMD had overtaken Intel in data center revenue, a feat once thought unimaginable. “We turned adversity into opportunity,” Su said in a recent keynote. “It’s about building the best products and letting the results speak for themselves.”
But Su isn’t resting on her laurels. With Intel vanquished as AMD’s primary rival, she has turned her attention to Nvidia, the $3 trillion behemoth dominating the AI chip market with an estimated 90% share. Nvidia’s GPUs, led by its H100 and upcoming Blackwell series, have become the gold standard for training and running AI models, fueling the generative AI boom that has swept across industries. Su sees an opening—and she’s ready to seize it.
AMD’s weapon in this fight is its Instinct MI300 series, launched in late 2023, which Su has called “the most advanced AI accelerator in the industry.” The MI300X, designed to rival Nvidia’s H100, has already gained traction with major cloud providers and AI firms, though it trails Nvidia’s offerings in market adoption. Undeterred, Su unveiled the MI325X earlier this year, set to ship in early 2025, and previewed the MI350X, slated for release later next year. The MI350X promises a 35-fold performance leap over its predecessor, positioning it as a direct competitor to Nvidia’s Blackwell chips. “We’re closing the gap,” Su told investors in February. “This is a long game, and we’re in it to win.”
Industry analysts see AMD’s progress as promising but acknowledge the steep challenge ahead. Nvidia’s dominance isn’t just about hardware—it’s bolstered by its CUDA software ecosystem, a sticky platform that keeps developers loyal. AMD has countered with its open-source ROCm software, but it’s still playing catch-up. “Lisa Su has proven she can turn a company around and beat the odds,” said Patrick Moorhead, CEO of Moor Insights & Strategy. “Nvidia’s a different beast, though. It’s not just about chips—it’s about the whole ecosystem.”
Su’s approach blends pragmatism with ambition. She’s betting on the AI market’s projected growth—to $500 billion by 2028, by her estimate—being big enough for AMD to carve out a significant slice without needing to dethrone Nvidia outright. Strategic partnerships with Microsoft, Sony, and others have bolstered AMD’s credibility, while acquisitions like Xilinx and ZT Systems have expanded its AI toolkit. “We don’t have to do everything Jensen [Huang, Nvidia’s CEO] does,” Su said, referencing her distant cousin. “We just have to do what we do better than anyone else.”
The stakes are high. Nvidia’s runaway success has made it the world’s most valuable company, and its R&D budget dwarfs AMD’s. Yet Su’s track record inspires confidence. Her hands-on style—frequently visiting chip labs and engaging directly with engineers—has earned her a cult-like following within AMD and beyond. “Lisa knows the tech inside out,” said Mark Papermaster, AMD’s CTO. “That’s why we believe we can take on anyone.”
As AMD ramps up its AI efforts, Wall Street is watching closely. The company’s stock has soared nearly 30-fold since Su took over, but recent earnings reports suggest investors want faster AI-driven growth. Su remains unfazed. “This isn’t a sprint—it’s a decade-long arc,” she told an audience at Stanford University earlier this month. “We’re building something enduring.”
For now, Su’s victory over Intel stands as a testament to her vision and grit. Whether she can repeat the feat against Nvidia remains an open question—but if anyone can, it’s the woman who’s already defied the odds once. In Silicon Valley’s relentless game of innovation, Lisa Su is proving she’s not just a player—she’s a contender.
