AI unexpectedly increased demand for CPUs, and AMD and Intel were unprepared for such a surge in orders

Short summary

At the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference 2026, representatives of AMD and Intel confirmed an increase in demand for central processors (CPUs) linked to the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI). This is reported by Tom’s Hardware.

What the leaders said
Company Key statements
Intel – Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner* “This year CPUs have become sought after again.” * The main driver is agent AI, which uses CPUs to coordinate tasks performed by GPUs and NPUs. Intel is already signing long‑term contracts with customers, guaranteeing uninterrupted chip supply.

AMD – CEO Lisa Su* “We are seeing significant growth in demand for processors due to increased inference workloads.” * Demand has exceeded her expectations.

How AI is changing the component market
1. Flow from ChatGPT to agent systems

- Since 2022, after the launch of ChatGPT, GPU demand rose by hundreds of thousands of chips for data centers and cloud services.

2. Memory shortage

- When GPU supplies stabilized (mid‑2025), specialists began predicting a lack of DRAM and NAND memory, as data centers required high‑speed modules and corporate storage.

3. Crisis in Q4 last year

- Prices for RAM and SSDs reached record highs. TrendForce forecasts almost double the contract prices for DRAM and at least a 1.5× increase for NAND this quarter.

4. Memory impact is broader than GPUs

- Memory is used in all digital devices: from smartphones to cars and industrial equipment. Manufacturers use the same silicon wafer line for consumer and corporate chips, boosting margins.

Why data centers feel the demand surge especially
- Multi‑processor systems are required for agent AI (capable of observing, reasoning, planning, and learning independently).

- CPU‑GPU‑NPU combinations are key to supporting such systems.

- In China a spike in demand for Intel and AMD processors is already noted; some companies report shortages of server chips.

Consumer segment
- Demand for local agent AI (Clawdbot, Moltbot, OpenClaw) is growing, stimulating interest in high‑performance Mac Studio and Mac mini from Apple.

- However most consumer devices are not yet ready for mass deployment of such systems due to limits on available memory capacity.

Conclusion
AMD and Intel emphasize that the demand growth mainly concerns server processors sought by data centers. Consumer markets are still preparing for large‑scale local use of agent AI and the accompanying memory requirements.