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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteOn December 23, 2021, AMD amended its wafer supply agreement with GlobalFoundries (GF), estimating that it would purchase approximately $2.1 billion of wafers for 2022 through 2025. The deal increased GF’s minimum annual capacity commitment, updated wafer pricing and purchase targets, and changed prepayment terms for 2022 and 2023. It covered 12nm and 14nm wafers—not all AMD chips—and did not make GF AMD’s exclusive foundry. Its stated term ended December 31, 2025.
What did AMD and GlobalFoundries agree to?
The December 2021 amendment updated an existing Wafer Supply Agreement (WSA), originally dated March 2, 2009. In practical terms, GF committed to make more annual capacity available to AMD, while AMD established new annual wafer purchase targets and pricing for the covered supply. The amendment also modified AMD’s prepayment obligations for 2022 and 2023.
AMD estimated total wafer purchases of approximately $2.1 billion across 2022–2025. That is an aggregate estimate, not a disclosed annual spending schedule. AMD’s December 23, 2021 Form 8-K describes the terms and period; the filed agreement exhibit contains the amendment itself.
A wafer is a semiconductor substrate on which many chip dies are manufactured. The $2.1 billion figure referred to AMD’s estimated purchases of wafers from GF, not a fab investment, an acquisition of GF, or the retail value of finished processors.
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#1 Best Overall
- The world’s fastest gaming processor, built on AMD ‘Zen5’ technology and Next Gen 3D V-Cache.
- 8 cores and 16 threads, delivering +~16% IPC uplift and great power efficiency
- 96MB L3 cache with better thermal performance vs. previous gen and allowing higher clock speeds, up to 5.2GHz
- Drop-in ready for proven Socket AM5 infrastructure
- Cooler not included
How did the deal change from the May 2021 agreement?
The December amendment followed an agreement made public in May 2021. The earlier estimate covered 2022–2024; the later one added a year and raised the aggregate estimate. The filings do not disclose how the total was divided among individual years.
| Agreement | Estimated wafer purchases | Purchase period | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2021 amendment | Approximately $1.6 billion | 2022–2024 | Set capacity and purchase commitments for the covered period. |
| December 2021 amendment | Approximately $2.1 billion | 2022–2025 | Extended the period through 2025 and increased the aggregate estimate. |
The difference between the two estimates is approximately $500 million. It should not be treated as the exact value of wafers for 2025: neither filing provides a year-by-year allocation.
Rank #2
- AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D Gaming and Content Creation Processor
- Max. Boost Clock : Up to 5.7 GHz; Base Clock: 4.3 GHz
- Form Factor: Desktops , Boxed Processor
- Architecture: Zen 5; Former Codename: Granite Ridge AM5
Which technologies did the agreement cover?
AMD’s filing specifies wafers made on 12nm and 14nm technology nodes. It does not give a complete list of products or assign specific quantities to individual product lines.
That distinction matters because a newer chip platform can still use silicon made on mature processes. Advanced compute dies may be produced by a different foundry from larger-node components or chips used in long-lived product lines. Mature processes can suit designs where cost, supply, analog characteristics, power behavior or qualification history matter. This is context for why 12nm and 14nm capacity could remain useful; it is not proof that a particular AMD I/O die or product was supplied under this amendment.
Rank #3
- Can deliver fast 100 plus FPS performance in the world's most popular games, discrete graphics card required
- 6 Cores and 12 processing threads, bundled with the AMD Wraith Stealth cooler
- 4.2 GHz Max Boost, unlocked for overclocking, 19 MB cache, DDR4-3200 support
- For the advanced Socket AM4 platform
GF’s December 2021 announcement described the broader partnership as supporting AMD products for datacenter, personal computing, embedded and other growth markets. Neither company’s cited announcement provides a product-by-product mapping, so the agreement should not be read as covering every Ryzen, EPYC, Radeon or Xilinx product.
Did AMD return to an exclusive manufacturing relationship?
No. The amendment did not restore the exclusivity provisions removed in the May 2021 agreement. AMD stated that it retained flexibility to contract with any wafer foundry for products at any technology node. The arrangement increased AMD’s commitments to GF for specified wafers while preserving its ability to use other manufacturing partners, including for advanced-node products.
Rank #4
- Processor provides dependable and fast execution of tasks with maximum efficiency.Graphics Frequency : 2200 MHZ.Number of CPU Cores : 8. Maximum Operating Temperature (Tjmax) : 89°C.
- Ryzen 7 product line processor for better usability and increased efficiency
- 5 nm process technology for reliable performance with maximum productivity
- Octa-core (8 Core) processor core allows multitasking with great reliability and fast processing speed
- 8 MB L2 plus 96 MB L3 cache memory provides excellent hit rate in short access time enabling improved system performance
Why lock in capacity during the chip shortage?
The agreement was announced amid a global semiconductor supply shortage. GF presented the expanded arrangement as a way to increase chip volume and provide supply assurance through 2025. For AMD, reserving additional mature-node capacity could make supply planning more predictable; for GF, AMD’s longer-term commitments offered greater visibility into demand and capacity use.
There is a trade-off in any multiyear capacity commitment. Greater access can reduce exposure to shortages, but purchase obligations and prepayments can tie up cash or leave a buyer committed to capacity it later needs less. The public terms do not establish that AMD’s pricing rose, nor do they disclose enough to quantify these risks for this agreement.
Best Value
- Pure gaming performance with smooth 100+ FPS in the world's most popular games
- 6 Cores and 12 processing threads, based on AMD "Zen 5" architecture
- 5.4 GHz Max Boost, unlocked for overclocking, 38 MB cache, DDR5-5600 support
- For the state-of-the-art Socket AM5 platform, can support PCIe 5.0 on select motherboards
- Cooler not included
What details were not made public?
AMD’s 8-K summary does not provide the exact commercial schedule. The publicly stated aggregate estimate should not be mistaken for a complete disclosure of the contract’s economics.
- Annual wafer quantities and annual dollar targets.
- The specific pricing formula or price per wafer.
- The amounts of the modified 2022 and 2023 prepayments.
- Product-level allocation and the final amount AMD actually purchased.
The filing identifies purchase targets, capacity allocations and payment terms, making this a structured contractual supply arrangement rather than a nonbinding announcement. The public information does not establish that AMD necessarily took delivery of every wafer under every possible market condition; it also does not support describing the arrangement as a specific take-or-pay deal.
What does the December 31, 2025 end date mean now?
The modified terms ran through December 31, 2025, so this is a historical agreement rather than a commitment that should be described as currently active. The cited filings confirm the terms announced in 2021 and their stated end date; they do not establish whether AMD and GF signed a replacement or subsequent agreement after that date.
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