AMD and Intel Shares Rise as AI Agents Spotlight Server CPUs

Personal AI agents are drawing attention to server processors that keep software workflows running in the background, as AMD and Intel shares rise amid demand for AI accelerators.

Meta launched its Muse agent on Sept. 8. It operates in a dedicated virtual computer and can perform tasks across apps. OpenAI introduced Dots on Sept. 29; it has a cloud computer and is designed to work continuously toward users’ goals.

Graphics processing units handle AI model calculations, while central processing units can run the surrounding software workflows. AMD shares gained 32% and Intel shares rose 21% in the month through Oct. 5. The gains came as server CPUs gained attention alongside demand for AI accelerators, but do not establish that Muse or Dots drove the stocks’ performance.

For the quarter that ended June 27, AMD's data center revenue reached $6.7 billion, a 107% increase from a year earlier. Growth reflected demand for both its EPYC processors and Instinct GPUs, leaving the contribution from CPUs or agent workloads unclear.

Meta designed Muse to use whichever CPUs are available. AMD and Meta have a multiyear infrastructure partnership that includes both GPUs and CPUs. Shipments for the partnership’s first gigawatt deployment are scheduled to begin in the second half of 2026, though the agreement does not specify how much AMD chip demand Muse will generate.

Wider use of AI agents could move some computing workloads from GPUs to CPUs. Muse can run on different CPUs, OpenAI draws on several CPU suppliers, and cloud providers are building processors of their own.