Pioneers of AI Possible: Lisa Su on semiconductors, compute, and big bets
32 snips
Nov 15, 2025 
Lisa Su, CEO of AMD, discusses the crucial role of semiconductors in advancing technology and healthcare. She reveals how AMD turned around from near-bankruptcy to a leader in high-performance computing. Lisa highlights AI's potential in accelerating drug discovery and equalizing healthcare access. She also shares insights on navigating geopolitics, the importance of energy efficiency, and fostering a culture of innovation. Su emphasizes the exciting future of AI, envisioning significant improvements in quality of life over the next decade.
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Childhood Tinkering Sparked A Career
- Lisa Su traced her curiosity to fixing a broken remote-controlled car as a child which led her to unscrew and reconnect a loose wire.
- That hands-on discovery convinced her hardware work had direct cause-and-effect impact, driving her into semiconductor labs.
Cleanroom Bunny Suit To Business Leader
- Lisa Su described dressing in a cleanroom "bunny suit" and running device experiments early in her career at IBM.
- She rotated roles every two years which taught her product and business skills beyond device physics.
Right Compute For The Right Application
- AMD focuses on providing the right compute for the right application across cloud, client, and consoles.
- Their mission combines hardware with systems and software to push high-performance computing forward.