SANTA CLARA, CA — AxiCom has been selected as the new global PR agency of record for semiconductor giant Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), after an eight-month review process, PRovoke Media has learned.

WPP’s technology specialist AxiCom – BCW’s sister agency – succeeds Edelman, which has handled various elements of AMD’s global communications for more than a decade. It is believed Edelman was involved in the pitch process until the late stages.

AxiCom’s brief on the account – estimated to be worth more than $7m – covers approximately 15 markets across the US, Latin America, EMEA and Asia-Pacific, encompassing all aspects of AMD communications, including corporate, B2B, consumer, public affairs, social and digital.

An AMD spokesperson confirmed the appointment and told PRovoke Media: “AMD has completed a comprehensive global PR agency review to align our agency engagement with the future needs of our business. While we will continue engagements with several regional agency partners, we have selected AxiCom to serve as our global PR agency of record covering North America, Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific, and Latin America.  The AxiCom team will be supporting our ongoing growth and storytelling tied to the growing diversity of our products and markets.”

AMD started the review late in 2022, after a turbulent year in which its share price dropped 50% as recession-related fears took their toll on the semiconductor industry, but it also overtook rival Intel in market cap, currently at $164 billion.

The company also completed two major acquisitions last year: adaptive computing company Xilinx – the $50 billion deal was one of the chip industry’s biggest ever – and then expanding its data center capabilities with the $1.9bn acquisition of Pensando Systems. It is understood that the review sought to consolidate the PR firms that AMD has inherited as a result of these deals. 

Last week, AMD also signalled its AI intentions with the announcement that it had acquired French-headquartered AI software firm Mipsology, whose flagship Zebra software – which interprets and responds to visual input such as photos and videos – can be used in autonomous vehicles, robotic manufacturing and smart retail, among other sectors.

Additional reporting by Arun Sudhaman