Both AMD and Intel said during the 2026 Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference that demand for CPUs is seeing an uptick due to artificial intelligence. Intel CFO David Zinsner said during his question and answer (via Investing.com) that “the CPU has become cool again this year,” especially as AI agents need CPUs to orchestrate the computationally-heavy tasks that the GPUs and NPUs will execute. It has even started seeing customers who are looking at long-term agreements, ensuring that they’ll have a continuous supply of these chips needed to expand their operations. On the other hand, AMD CEO Lisa Su said during the same conference, “You know, we’re seeing a significant CPU demand, frankly, as a result of the inference demand picking up.” She also added later that “the CPU portion of the business has actually far exceeded my expectations in terms of demand.”
