AMD, Intel back optical upstart pushing for denser photonics inside AI racks

OpenAI accuses a former employee of stealing confidential files about an unreleased AI device and sharing them with Apple. The employee, who returned to Apple, allegedly presented OpenAI's product plans to Apple's leadership. Apple denies the allegations, stating it has strict policies and will cooperate with OpenAI. The dispute is part of an ongoing lawsuit between the two companies, both of which are developing AI-enabled devices.

Intel (INTC) shares fell 2.7% to $100.045 on October 14, despite launching its 350-watt D-series GPU for AI inference. The GPU targets inference workloads with 1.3 petaflops of peak FP8 compute and up to 480GB of memory. Intel's stock is 209.16% above its GF Value estimate of $32.36, indicating high market expectations. Success depends on deployment costs, software performance, and repeat orders.

Intel (INTC) shares fell 4.3% on Wednesday after an explosion at its Israel plant injured three. The cause is under investigation, with no evidence of terrorism. The facility produces chips for PCs. Long-term impacts are unclear.

Intel launched its D-series GPUs for AI inference, featuring Xe3P architecture, PCIe 5.0 support, and up to 480GB LPDDR5X memory. The D270 model offers 1.3 petaFLOPS performance with 350W power rating. Intel also introduced a rack design for agentic AI, supporting over 46,000 CPU cores. The GPUs aim to improve cost efficiency in data centers for AI workloads, according to the company.

NVIDIA (NVDA) has begun production of its Vera Rubin platform, aiming to extend its AI market lead. The platform promises 10x the throughput of its predecessor and is expected to contribute 20% of Data Center revenues in Q3. NVIDIA reported Q2 FY2027 revenues of $96.2B, up 106% YoY, with Data Center revenues at $89B, up 117%. Rivals AMD and Intel are also advancing their AI chip platforms, but NVIDIA's integrated systems remain a key advantage.

Analysts at Susquehanna and Bernstein provided updates on Intel (INTC) and Lumentum (LITE). Christopher Rolland reiterated a Hold rating on INTC with a $115.00 target, while Daniel Zhu maintained a Buy on LITE with a $1220.00 target. INTC has a Hold consensus and $115.23 average target, while LITE has a Strong Buy consensus and $1131.78 average target.