AMD projects explosive data center growth driven by AI inference by 2027

AMD just turned in a quarter that would have seemed like science fiction two years ago. The company’s data center division generated $6.7 billion in Q2 2026 revenue, a 107% jump from the same period a year earlier. Total revenue hit $11.54 billion, up 50% year-over-year, with the data center segment now accounting for 58% of everything AMD sells. CEO Lisa Su isn’t content to let those numbers speak for themselves. She’s projecting data center sales will exceed $13 billion in Q3 2026 alone, with the full segment more than doubling again by 2027. The engine behind that forecast: AI inference workloads, which AMD expects to surpass training demands for the first time this year. The inference shift changes everything AMD’s server CPU revenue grew over 70% year-over-year in Q2 2026, and its Instinct GPU lineup is gaining traction with hyperscalers who need cost-effective inference solutions alongside Nvidia’s offerings. Inference workloads tend to be more price-sensitive than training, which creates an opening for AMD’s value proposition. New silicon and big-name customers AMD is stacking its product roadmap accordingly. The Instinct MI350, MI400, and MI450 GPUs are all in various stage...