Riot Platforms Urged to Accelerate AI Transition
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Feb 18 2026
0mins
Should l Buy AMD?
Source: Barron's
Shift in Focus: Riot Platforms is transitioning from crypto mining to artificial intelligence data centers, following a trend among competitors in the industry.
Investor Pressure: An activist investor is urging Riot Platforms to accelerate its shift towards AI data centers.
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Analyst Views on AMD
Wall Street analysts forecast AMD stock price to rise
33 Analyst Rating
25 Buy
8 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 202.680
Low
210.00
Averages
289.13
High
377.00
Current: 202.680
Low
210.00
Averages
289.13
High
377.00
About AMD
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. is a global semiconductor company. The Company is focused on high-performance computing, graphics and visualization technologies. Its segments include Data Center, Client and Gaming, and Embedded. Data Center segment includes artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators, microprocessors (CPUs) for servers, graphics processing units (GPUs), accelerated processing units (APUs), data processing units (DPUs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), smart network interface Cards (SmartNICs) and Adaptive system-on-Chip (SoC) products for data centers. Client and Gaming segment includes CPUs, APUs, chipsets for desktops and notebooks, discrete GPUs, and semi-custom SoC products and development services. Embedded segment includes embedded CPUs, GPUs, APUs, FPGAs, system on modules (SOMs), and Adaptive SoC products. It markets and sells its products under the AMD trademark. Its products include AMD EPYC, AMD Ryzen, AMD Ryzen PRO, Virtex UltraScale+, and others.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Manufacturing Shortage Challenges: Despite rising demand, Intel and the broader semiconductor industry face manufacturing shortages, with some factories operating at or above full capacity, which could impact future production capabilities and market supply.
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- Blocking Competitors: Burry claims Nvidia paid approximately $150 million to prevent AMD from securing a contract tied to the data center buildout, an action viewed as leveraging market power to suppress competition, potentially triggering broader antitrust investigations.
- Shifting Regulatory Landscape: Burry notes that the U.S. Justice Department has been investigating Nvidia for nearly two years, although he expresses skepticism about the current administration's willingness to act, reflecting increasing regulatory pressures facing the AI infrastructure sector.
See More
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- Strategic Investment: Nvidia has announced a significant investment in Thinking Machines Lab, founded by Mira Murati, aiming to enhance the customizability and general capabilities of AI systems through a multi-year strategic partnership, further solidifying its leadership in the AI sector.
- Technology Deployment: As part of the collaboration, Thinking Machines Lab has agreed to deploy at least one gigawatt of Nvidia's Vera Rubin systems, which are expected to ship in the second half of the year, showcasing Nvidia's ongoing innovation in high-performance computing.
- Product Launch: Thinking Machines Lab released its first product, Tinker, in October, which is an API that allows researchers and developers to fine-tune AI models, marking a significant advancement in AI application development.
- Funding Background: The startup raised $2 billion in July, indicating strong market confidence in its AI technology, while also providing robust support for Nvidia's investment, helping it maintain a competitive edge in the rapidly evolving AI market.
See More
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- AI Design Wins: AMD's victories in AI design set a solid foundation for future revenue growth, showcasing strong market potential despite fierce competition.
- GPU Deal Scale: The multi-billion dollar GPU deal with clients is expected to generate substantial cash flow, significantly enhancing AMD's market share and profitability.
- Competitive Landscape Analysis: Under pressure from competitors, AMD must continue to innovate and optimize its products to maintain its leading position in the high-performance computing market, ensuring long-term sustainable growth.
- Investor Milestone Tracking: Investors should monitor key milestones in AMD's AI and GPU sectors to assess its future market performance and financial health.
See More
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- Deployment Commitment: Nvidia commits to deploying at least one gigawatt of next-generation Vera Rubin systems to power Thinking Machines' frontier model training and enterprise AI platforms, with deployment targeted for early next year, significantly enhancing AI application capabilities.
- Joint System Design: The agreement includes joint efforts to design training and serving systems for NVIDIA architectures, aiming to broaden access to frontier AI and open models for enterprises, research institutions, and the scientific community, thus promoting the widespread adoption of AI technology.
- Leadership Vision: Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang stated that Thinking Machines has assembled a world-class team to advance the frontier of AI, indicating a strong mutual commitment to realizing an exciting vision for the future of AI.
- Company Background Pressure: Despite the promising partnership, Thinking Machines faces pressure due to a lack of clear product and business direction, with reports of employee resignations following a tense all-hands meeting, highlighting internal challenges and uncertainties.
See More
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- Developer Tools Available: Developers can now access the necessary tools to start building applications using the supported hardware, a move that will accelerate the market launch of new products and meet the high-performance computing demands across various industries.
- Stock Price Recovery: After a 3.9% decline, AMD's stock rebounded by 0.40% to $203.50 on Monday, reflecting investor concerns over geopolitical tensions and new export policies while also indicating market confidence in AMD's latest product and licensing developments.
- Licensing Deal Resolves Litigation: The licensing agreement reached between AMD and Adeia resolves related litigation, further solidifying AMD's position in the semiconductor industry and is expected to provide more security for future business development.
See More
