AMD announced a $300 million loan guarantee to AI‑chip startup Crusoe, a company that has shifted from cryptocurrency mining to building AI‑centric data‑center infrastructure. The guarantee, backed by Goldman Sachs, will enable Crusoe to purchase AMD‑based AI chips for a new Ohio data‑center project.
The loan structure gives Crusoe a 6 % interest rate and includes a lease‑back clause: if Crusoe cannot secure customers for the chips, AMD will lease them back, ensuring a return on its investment and mitigating risk for the chipmaker.
Crusoe, founded in 2018, has raised more than $10 billion in funding, including a $750 million credit facility from Brookfield and a Series E round that valued the company at over $10 billion. The startup’s focus on AI workloads positions it as a significant player in the emerging “neoclouds” market, rather than a small early‑stage venture.
The Ohio data‑center is being developed by Canadian firm 5C and backed by Brookfield, underscoring the scale of the project and the strategic partnership between AMD, Crusoe, and the capital providers.
AMD’s Q4 2025 results showed record revenue of $10.3 billion, up 34 % year‑over‑year, with the Data Center segment growing 39 % to $5.4 billion. The company guided for Q1 2026 revenue of $9.8 billion, ±$300 million, a figure that, while above consensus, fell short of some investor expectations, reflecting cautious outlooks amid strong AI demand.
By guaranteeing the loan, AMD is following Nvidia’s playbook of using financing to secure AI‑chip sales, thereby expanding its presence in the high‑growth AI data‑center market. The lease‑back clause protects AMD from potential customer shortfalls, while the partnership with a well‑funded, high‑valuation startup like Crusoe signals confidence in the AI infrastructure boom.
The deal positions AMD to capture a larger share of the AI chip market, strengthens its competitive stance against Nvidia, and demonstrates a proactive strategy to drive adoption of its Instinct MI450‑series accelerators in a capital‑intensive industry.
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