AMD is 'leaving millions of dollars on table' due to laptop AI chip supply problems

Multiple reports claim AMD has completely dropped the ball when it comes to its new Ryzen AI laptop chips (via TechSpot). Abazovic Consultancy Analysis reports that AMD has lost the trust of laptop manufacturers due to chip shortages. ComputerBase claims it was told AMD had left "billions" of dollars on the table because of its missteps when supplying manufacturers.

ACA claims that the problem is due to AMD's decision of shifting its focus and manufacturing volume away from client chips like laptop APUs such as the new Ryzen AI 300 and towards more profitable enterprise CPUs and graphics cards. It's true that AMD CEO Lisa Su declared recently that AMD is a "data-center-first" company.

The ACA report compares the apparently limited availability of laptops based upon the new Ryzen AI chip, codenamed Strix Point with the success of Qualcomm's new Snapdragon X, noting that Qualcomm secured seven major OEM laptop manufacturers for the launch Snapdragon X, while AMD only managed to secure three.

A report on ComputerBase traces AMD’s problems back further, and states that AMD’s existing Ryzen AI chip can only be found in "premium devices." It claims that it was told that notebook manufacturers have "no prospects of quickly obtaining many AMD chips," a situation which perpetuates "a persistent issue that has been known for over a decade."

The net result? ComputerBase reported that a laptop maker told them AMD had "left billions of dollars on the table with its many partners" over the years. ComputerBase quotes figures that show AMD has gained market share for laptops in the last 18 to 24 months. The gains are not spectacular, but they do range from 16% to 20%.

AMD's new cheaper Ryzen AI chip codenamed Kraken point, due to be released next year, could change that. It's basically the same architecture as Strix Point but the CPU core count is reduced from 12 to 8 and the graphics CUs are reduced from 16 to 8.

If AMD really has missed an opportunity, things are only going to get more difficult. Intel's Lunar Lake laptop processor looks great on paper and could be a serious competitor in the premium thin-and light segment. Qualcomm has announced a cheaper variant of Snapdragon X that should enable AI-capable computers in the $600-$700 range.

It's true that AMD-powered laptops have been few and far between compared to the hordes of Intel options. Similarly, Qualcomm's success in gaining support from major brands for its new Snapdragon X processor at launch earlier this summer was noteworthy, especially since it didn't have native x86 compatibility.

There are always exceptions. AMD has been dominating the handheld gaming PC market. There are many AMD-powered devices, but only a few that use Intel CPUs. It's also true, AMD's Hawk Point APUs and Phoenix APUs made for very compelling laptop CPUs in the last few years. You might have expected AMD to have seen a more significant increase in market share.

As for AMD's laptop GPUs, don't even get us started. The latest Radeon RX 7000M is barely available in laptops. It's very strange. It's hard to tell from the outside how much of what is happening is an accident and how much part of a larger plan.

AMD is likely to have limited access to TSMC, its main manufacturing partner. There's no doubt that enterprise and data center chip margins and profits are higher.

It's easy to understand why AMD puts "data centers first" from a business standpoint. It seems odd that AMD would not meet the demand for all these great laptop chips. We would love to see more gaming laptops, and handhelds, with AMD technology. According to these reports, this is not likely to happen anytime soon.