Meta AI agents drive hardware pivot as AMD, Intel stocks surge

The rise of personal AI agents is triggering a major hardware shift, lifting shares of Advanced Micro Devices and Intel while challenging Nvidia's long-standing dominance. The new wave of autonomous software requires processing power that central processing units handle better than graphics cards. AMD and Intel stocks jumped 32% and 21% over the past month, outperforming other major tech firms.

Meta launched its Muse agent in early September, and it reached the top of the Apple App Store in less than two weeks. OpenAI followed with its own agent, Dots, last week. Both systems run on AMD processors. Muse operates on an AMD-powered machine, while Dots uses a virtual environment built around an AMD EPYC chip.

Autonomous agents plan and execute tasks that can run for hours or days without human input. Graphics processors still handle the heavy lifting for AI model calculations, but central processors manage the actual workflow execution. "CPUs are actually performing the workflows while GPUs are doing the thinking," said Daniel Newman, chief executive of Futurum Group. Hyperscalers like Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft typically partition servers into virtual machines to run these agents efficiently.

The demand is already reshaping corporate financials. AMD reported that data center revenue more than doubled to $6.7 billion in the quarter ended in June, making up almost 60% of total sales. The company recently entered the trillion-dollar market capitalization club. Industry watchers expect the trend to accelerate. Futurum Group now projects total CPU sales will reach $118 billion in 2027, nearly double its spring estimate. AMD itself forecasts the broader market will hit $220 billion by 2030.

Nvidia is not sitting idle. The company released a redesigned processor called Vera earlier this year and built the chip specifically for agents. Analysts note that Nvidia faces stiff competition and is not currently the clear market leader in this segment. "It's just a new product and they're going to be competing against a lot of different players," said Jordan Klein of Mizuho Securities. He added that companies supplying both graphics and central processors are best positioned for the long term.