The milestone places AMD among a small group of companies to have reached the $1 trillion valuation level and makes it the only company in that group currently led by a female CEO, according to Fortune.
At the centre of the achievement is Dr Lisa Su, who has served as AMD’s President and Chief Executive Officer since October 2014 and became Chair of the Board in 2022. She joined AMD in 2012 as Senior Vice President and General Manager of its Global Business Units before becoming Chief Operating Officer.
From Semiconductor Engineer to AMD CEO
Su’s career has been rooted in semiconductor engineering and research.
Before joining AMD, she spent 13 years at IBM in engineering and business leadership positions, including Vice President of the Semiconductor Research and Development Center. She also served as Chief Technology Officer and later Senior Vice President and General Manager of Networking and Multimedia at Freescale Semiconductor. Earlier in her career, she worked at Texas Instruments.
She holds a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and PhD in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
When Su became AMD’s CEO in 2014, the company was facing significant challenges and had a much smaller market valuation than it has today. Her tenure has coincided with AMD’s expansion across high-performance computing, gaming, data centres and artificial intelligence.
AMD’s Growing Role in AI
Artificial intelligence has become increasingly important to AMD’s growth strategy.
The company has expanded its portfolio of high-performance processors and accelerators designed for data centres and AI workloads, positioning itself as a major competitor to Nvidia in the semiconductor market.
The recent rise in AMD’s valuation has been linked in part to expectations around demand for computing infrastructure for AI. Reuters reported that investors were betting on AMD’s expanding role in AI computing when the company crossed the $1 trillion threshold.
AMD has also continued to build its position in the wider AI ecosystem through partnerships, investments and acquisitions.
A Milestone for Women in Technology
The $1 trillion milestone has a significance beyond AMD’s market value.
Fortune reported that AMD became the first company led by a female CEO to cross $1 trillion. Oracle had previously approached the threshold under former CEO Safra Catz, but its market capitalisation peaked at around $925 billion in 2025.
The achievement comes in an industry where women remain underrepresented in senior technology leadership.
Su has nevertheless become one of the most recognised executives in the global technology sector. AMD’s own biography lists her among Fortune’s Most Powerful Women from 2020 through 2026 and Forbes’ World’s Most Powerful Women from 2023 through 2025. She was also named TIME’s 2024 CEO of the Year and received the 2024 Bower Award for Business Leadership.
The milestone also reflects the scale of AMD’s transformation since Su took over as CEO.
While market capitalisation can move significantly with changes in share prices, crossing the $1 trillion level places AMD in a relatively small group of companies at that valuation and marks another significant point in Su’s 12-year tenure as chief executive.
As AI continues to drive demand for advanced computing infrastructure, AMD’s next challenge will be sustaining its position in an increasingly competitive semiconductor market.
For Su, the $1 trillion milestone adds another chapter to a career that has taken her from semiconductor research and engineering to the leadership of one of the world’s most valuable technology companies.
