DOE, AMD $1B Supercomputers; AMD Stock Rises

The U.S. Department of Energy and AMD are partnering on a $1 billion program to build two AMD-powered AI-optimized supercomputers, Lux and Discovery, at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to accelerate fusion research, aid nuclear and national-security workloads, and speed molecular-level drug discovery including cancer research. The project is co-developed with Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and ORNL, with DOE/ORNL providing hosting, facilities and power while the industry partners supply hardware, software and capital and share compute capacity. Lux will use AMD Instinct MI355X accelerators and is expected to be online within six months and deliver roughly three times the AI capability of current supercomputers; Discovery will use AMD MI430-series parts with delivery targeted in 2028 and operation planned by 2029. DOE officials said the systems could accelerate fusion work (with potential practical pathways in two to three years), help manage the U.S. nuclear arsenal and speed drug-discovery timelines (with hopes many cancers could become manageable in five to eight years). The announcement also boosted AMD’s shares, and market coverage noted AMD’s recent sale of ZT Systems to Sanmina while retaining design teams and that Rep. Dan Newhouse purchased AMD stock on Aug. 17 and reportedly realized roughly a 45% gain after the DOE news, a development that has drawn trader attention and questions about timing and trading volumes.