HBR On Strategy: AMD’s Lisa Su on Experimenting with AI
In the May 21, 2025 episode of HBR On Strategy, Harvard Business Review’s Adi Ignatius engages in an insightful conversation with Lisa Su, CEO of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). Drawing from her decade-long leadership at AMD, Lisa Su delves into the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in business strategy, innovation, and operational excellence. This comprehensive summary captures the key discussions, insights, and conclusions from their dialogue.
1. Embracing AI as a Positive Force
Timestamp: [02:00]
Lisa Su identifies herself as a "techno optimist," balancing optimism with pragmatism regarding AI's impact. She acknowledges the infancy of AI technology and its imperfections, emphasizing the importance of active learning and responsible usage.
“The technology is not perfect. We’re still in the very early stages of the deployment of AI.” — Lisa Su [02:00]
Su believes that leadership must harness AI's potential to enhance productivity while mitigating its downsides. She underscores the necessity of integrating employees into the AI adoption process to boost both individual and organizational efficiency.
2. Balancing Speed and Caution in AI Deployment
Timestamp: [03:59]
Addressing the tension between rapid AI integration and the need for careful implementation, Su advocates for "fast experimentation and implementation." She highlights AMD’s formation of a Responsible AI Council to ensure ethical and secure AI use, particularly concerning intellectual property protection.
“I really believe in fast experimentation and implementation. So I don't believe the answer is let's slow down.” — Lisa Su [03:59]
Su illustrates how AI can drastically reduce workflow times, citing design processes that previously took weeks now accomplished in days. This approach exemplifies AMD’s strategy to leverage AI for significant returns on investment while maintaining responsible usage.
3. Practical Implementation of AI in Business
Timestamp: [06:21]
When advising businesses on AI integration, Su recommends a thorough examination of existing workflows to identify areas where AI can act as a "co-pilot." She provides examples from AMD’s engineering and marketing teams, where AI assists in coding, testing, and content creation, enhancing human efforts rather than replacing them.
“Lots of pilots experimentation and then figuring out where you can get the most bang for the buck in the near term.” — Lisa Su [06:21]
Su emphasizes the importance of piloting AI projects to determine high-value applications, suggesting that businesses focus on areas with significant productivity gains and manageable implementation barriers.
4. Leveraging Real-Time Data with AI
Timestamp: [08:31]
In response to an audience question, Su discusses AMD’s efforts in utilizing AI for predictive analytics in sales cycles and trend analysis. She notes the necessity of tailoring AI models to specific business data to uncover actionable insights swiftly.
“There are some really nice patterns and trends that can give you insights of where to dive to the next level of detail going forward.” — Lisa Su [08:49]
This strategy enables AMD to pivot quickly in response to market dynamics, enhancing agility and responsiveness.
5. Strategic Focus and Leadership at AMD
Timestamp: [09:45]
Reflecting on her tenure as CEO, Su explains AMD’s strategic focus on high-performance computing and AI, areas aligned with the company’s heritage and expertise. She highlights the importance of concentrating resources on core strengths to drive growth and innovation.
“Our focus was high performance computing. Before, high performance computing was sexy. And now... we are in perhaps one of the most exciting areas in semiconductors.” — Lisa Su [09:45]
This strategic clarity has been pivotal in AMD’s transformation into a leading semiconductor company.
6. Competing in the Semiconductor Industry
Timestamp: [11:09]
Su discusses AMD’s competitive edge against industry giants like Nvidia. She attributes AMD’s success to visionary "big bets" on future technologies and substantial investments in research and development.
“Technology is about building great products. To really do that, we have to kind of see the future.” — Lisa Su [11:09]
By anticipating industry trends and committing to long-term innovation, AMD maintains its position at the forefront of technological advancements.
7. Accessibility and Cost of AI Technology
Timestamp: [12:49]
Addressing concerns about the accessibility and cost of AI, Su reassures that AMD is committed to making AI technology more affordable. She differentiates between the high costs of training large language models and the more accessible fine-tuned models, aiming to reduce inference costs significantly.
“I don't believe that this is going to be an overall issue where the cost is prohibitive.” — Lisa Su [12:49]
Su underscores the importance of determining return on investment and targeting AI applications that offer substantial productivity enhancements.
8. Navigating Supply Chain and Geopolitical Challenges
Timestamp: [14:42]
Su addresses geopolitical tensions, specifically China’s restrictions on AMD and Intel chips in government computers. She emphasizes AMD’s global market presence and strategic planning to mitigate the impact of such policies.
“We are a global company, we work in all markets. China is a large market for us... I don't see it as a significant factor in the business.” — Lisa Su [14:42]
Su highlights the importance of global partnerships and diversified market strategies to sustain AMD's growth amidst political uncertainties.
9. Promoting Gender and Age Diversity in Tech
Timestamp: [15:51] & [17:38]
Su advocates for increased gender diversity and the inclusion of young talent in the tech industry. She attributes AMD’s success to diverse perspectives and emphasizes the company’s commitment to providing opportunities for women and new graduates.
“We need diversity of experiences and thoughts. The best thing we can do is give people opportunities.” — Lisa Su [16:01]
Su also discusses AMD’s approach to hiring new graduates, focusing on their problem-solving abilities and potential for growth rather than specific technical skills alone.
10. Sustainability and AI’s Role
Timestamp: [20:38]
Su links AMD’s technological advancements to sustainability goals, emphasizing power-efficient high-performance computing. She asserts that newer technologies inherently offer greater sustainability benefits by reducing power consumption.
“The newer the technology, frankly the more sustainable it is because you do have all of the benefits of newer technologies being much, much more power efficient.” — Lisa Su [20:38]
Additionally, she notes that AI aids in achieving sustainability by enabling more efficient processes and solutions.
11. Lessons Learned from Leadership
Timestamp: [19:05]
Reflecting on her decade-long leadership, Su shares the paramount lesson of setting "very ambitious long-term goals." She credits AMD’s substantial growth from a $4 billion to a $23 billion company to visionary goal-setting coupled with clear, achievable milestones.
“The most important lesson that I've learned is to really be very ambitious in the long term goals that you set for a company.” — Lisa Su [19:05]
This approach has been instrumental in driving AMD’s strategic direction and fostering sustained growth.
Conclusion
Lisa Su’s conversation on HBR On Strategy offers a deep dive into how AMD leverages AI to drive innovation, efficiency, and competitive advantage. Her pragmatic optimism towards AI underscores the balance between harnessing technology's potential and addressing its challenges. Su’s insights on strategic focus, diversity, sustainability, and leadership provide valuable guidance for business leaders aiming to navigate the complexities of modern technological landscapes.
Notable Quotes:
- “The technology is not perfect. We’re still in the very early stages of the deployment of AI.” — Lisa Su [02:00]
- “I really believe in fast experimentation and implementation. So I don't believe the answer is let's slow down.” — Lisa Su [03:59]
- “We need diversity of experiences and thoughts. The best thing we can do is give people opportunities.” — Lisa Su [16:01]
- “The most important lesson that I've learned is to really be very ambitious in the long term goals that you set for a company.” — Lisa Su [19:05]
- “The newer the technology, frankly the more sustainable it is because you do have all of the benefits of newer technologies being much, much more power efficient.” — Lisa Su [20:38]
This summary encapsulates the essence of Lisa Su’s perspectives on AI and leadership, offering actionable insights for business leaders and professionals seeking to integrate AI responsibly and effectively within their organizations.