AMD and Nutanix have entered a multi-year strategic partnership valued at up to $250 million to deliver a comprehensive, open AI infrastructure platform optimized for agentic AI applications. This partnership targets the rapidly growing market for enterprise AI inference.
The deal was announced as Nutanix released earnings that beat top- and bottom-line estimates, and just a day following news of AMD’s $100 billion deal with Meta.
Deal Details
A key component of the relationship is AMD’s $150 million equity investment in Nutanix common stock at $36.26 per share, resulting in approximately 1% dilution for existing shareholders. AMD has also committed up to $100 million in funding to support the engineering effort required to build the solution.
Nutanix CEO Rajiv Ramaswami was asked about the discounted equity investment during the company’s FY2026 Q2 earnings call. He responded that an equity investment from AMD “aligns their interest with Nutanix’s success.”
The agreement is not exclusive. Nutanix will continue to support Nvidia-based solutions, including GPUs and the Nvidia Enterprise AI software. Ramaswami pointed out that the AI ecosystem is built around both Nvidia and AMD, and Nutanix is “well aligned” with complete solutions from both major AI players.
An Open Enterprise AI Inference Play
The AMD-Nutanix partnership directly challenges vertically integrated AI solutions that combine Nvidia hardware, software, and cloud services. While effective in certain scenarios, these solutions often result in vendor lock-in, which many enterprise IT organizations seek to avoid.
In contrast, the AMD-Nutanix platform emphasizes openness. Enterprises can deploy open-source and commercial AI models without relying on proprietary frameworks and can select hardware based on performance, cost, and availability. This approach addresses the software compatibility constraints often found in Nvidia-centric inference solutions.
This open approach aligns with enterprise IT purchasing strategies, which favor multi-vendor environments to maintain negotiating leverage and reduce risk. The AMD-Nutanix platform supports this by enabling enterprises to standardize on Nutanix’s management layer while sourcing hardware from various providers.
For AMD, the partnership offers a credible enterprise go-to-market channel. Although AMD is established in data center CPUs and GPUs, successful enterprise AI platform sales require strong relationships with IT decision-makers and expertise in complex deployments. Nutanix provides both, as well as an existing customer base in key industries.
Enabling Service Providers
In addition to direct enterprise sales, the partnership targets service providers offering GPU-as-a-service. This segment is growing rapidly as organizations seek AI infrastructure without a significant capital investment.
Currently, Nvidia-based solutions dominate the GPU-as-a-service market. However, providers require platforms that support multi-tenant deployments, usage-based billing, and rapid scaling. While Nvidia offers a robust AI stack, it lacks the broader management capabilities this market demands.
The AMD-Nutanix collaboration addresses these needs. AMD offers inference capabilities comparable to Nvidia, while Nutanix delivers a management platform designed for multi-tenant environments. This combination is compelling for service providers and expands the market for both companies.
Timeline and Revenue Expectations
The companies plan to launch their first jointly developed platform in late 2026, with initial revenue expected in 2027. This timeline reflects the engineering required to optimize Nutanix’s software for AMD hardware and validate performance across enterprise workloads.
Nutanix anticipates a gradual revenue ramp. CEO Rajiv Ramaswami stated that initial contributions will be modest, reflecting the early stage of enterprise AI deployments. However, the long-term opportunity is significant as AI inference becomes standard in enterprise applications.
Timed to Nutanix Earnings
The announcement coincided with Nutanix’s FY2026 Q2 earnings release, in which the company reported results above guidance, beating expectations for both revenue and earnings. Revenue reached $723 million, exceeding expectations, and annual recurring revenue grew 16% year over year to $2.36 billion, driven by ongoing subscription growth.
Nutanix reported strong customer momentum, adding over 1,000 new customers during the quarter, driven by hybrid cloud modernization and VMware migration initiatives.
The company also saw increased adoption of Nutanix Cloud Clusters, which support deployments across public cloud environments. NC2 will play a central role in delivering the AMD-based solution to service providers.
AMD’s Growing AI Ecosystem Investment
AMD is actively investing in partnerships and customer relationships to expand its presence in a market dominated by Nvidia. One day before the Nutanix announcement, AMD also reached an agreement with Meta.
Meta agreed to deploy up to 6 gigawatts of AMD’s Instinct GPUs, with AMD issuing warrants to Meta for up to 160 million shares, representing about 10% of the company. The first gigawatt of shipments is expected in the second half of 2026.
This follows a similar agreement AMD reached with OpenAI in October 2025, which also included a 6-gigawatt commitment and a comparable number of warrants.
The Meta and OpenAI agreements are valued at approximately $100 billion each over five years.
Analyst’s Take
The AMD-Nutanix partnership comes as enterprises increase investments in AI infrastructure. Organizations are moving from pilot projects to production deployments that require robust, validated platforms. This shift favors vendors offering complete solutions over those requiring extensive integration.
The focus on agentic AI workflows aligns with enterprise priorities. These workflows require advanced orchestration, reliable execution, and integration with existing systems. Nutanix’s platform addresses these needs, positioning the company to grow as enterprise adoption of agentic AI workflows increases.
The partnership also supports enterprise AI requirements for open and heterogeneous infrastructure. Unlike consumer AI, where integrated platforms from major cloud providers prevail, enterprise deployments must address diverse needs across industries, regions, and regulations. Platforms that offer open architectures and vendor choice are positioned to gain significant market share.
Both AMD and Nutanix enter the partnership from strong positions. AMD contributes competitive AI accelerators and a growing data center presence, while Nutanix offers proven enterprise platform capabilities and established relationships with IT decision-makers. Together, they provide enterprises with a credible alternative to vertically integrated AI platforms, offering the flexibility and openness that enterprise IT increasingly demands.
The $250 million commitment reflects both companies’ belief that enterprise AI infrastructure is a generational market opportunity. As inference workloads increase and agentic AI applications mature, the partnership positions AMD and Nutanix to capture significant value in a developing market.
