TLDRs;
- AMD CEO Lisa Su says the U.S. is only in year two of a “massive ten-year AI boom.”
- Su urges policymakers to speed up manufacturing, data center approvals, and energy access to protect U.S. AI dominance.
- She rejected calls for a full ban on chip exports to China, supporting current controls instead.
- AI could soon drive a $500B data center market and revolutionize healthcare access in rural America.
AMD CEO Lisa Su has urged the United States to accelerate its efforts to stay ahead in artificial intelligence.
Speaking at the Axios AI+ Summit in Washington, D.C., Su, who has led the chipmaker for over a decade, said the world is only in the second year of what she called a “massive ten-year cycle” of AI-driven innovation and infrastructure expansion.
She emphasized that the pace of technological change, combined with soaring investments in data centers and chip design, is reshaping the global economy while driving Wall Street valuations.
“AI is the most transformative technology I have seen in my career, and perhaps in any of our lifetimes,” Su told attendees.
Su Pushes for Stronger U.S. Policies
Su praised the U.S. government’s current focus on artificial intelligence but stressed the need for faster, more decisive action.
She urged policymakers to support domestic manufacturing, streamline approval processes for building new data centers, and guarantee stable energy supplies to meet the sector’s enormous power demands.
“The U.S. has to run fast, and then run even faster, to maintain leadership in AI,” Su said.
She called the Trump administration’s AI action plan a “good blueprint” but argued that additional steps were critical to keep America ahead of rivals.
Export Controls and Global Competition
One of the more contentious points at the summit was whether the U.S. should take stricter measures on AI chip exports to China. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei had argued for a complete ban, but Su disagreed.
“Our most advanced chips are already under export control, and that is the right policy,” she explained. “But we should also allow American-developed AI technology to compete on the global stage.”
AMD, alongside Nvidia, has agreed to pay 15% of revenue from advanced chip sales to China as part of existing U.S. trade requirements.
Su’s remarks reflect a balancing act: protecting national security interests while ensuring that U.S. technology continues to dominate global markets.
Market Outlook and Healthcare Potential
Looking ahead, Su pointed to explosive growth in the AI hardware sector. Industry forecasts suggest that the market for AI data center accelerators could reach $500 billion within the next three to four years, a figure equal to the size of the entire semiconductor industry not long ago.
Beyond the financial impact, Su highlighted AI’s transformative potential in healthcare. She referenced AMD’s work with the Mayo Clinic and envisioned a future where advanced AI-powered diagnostics could bring world-class healthcare to underserved rural communities.
