The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) have unveiled a $1 billion public-private initiative aimed at expanding artificial intelligence and high-performance computing capabilities for scientific research. First reported by Reuters, the project will fund two new supercomputers—Lux and Discovery—targeted at major workloads including fusion energy, cancer treatment, drug discovery, and national security.
Two supercomputers with different deployment timelines
The plan was announced by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and AMD CEO Lisa Su. Under the agreement, AMD will lead technology development, with support from Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, while Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) will oversee deployment. The DOE will host the systems, and computing access will be shared across public and private sector users.
Lux is expected to come online by April 2026 and will use AMD’s MI355X AI chips. According to the report, it is expected to deliver roughly three times the processing power of current top-tier systems. Its workloads will include fusion-energy simulation, cancer modeling, and national security applications. The second machine, Discovery, is scheduled for deployment in 2028 to 2029 and will feature AMD’s upcoming MI430 AI chips, enabling it to process larger datasets across energy, defense, and biomedical research.
A strategic push for AI and scientific computing
The DOE has framed the effort as a model for future public-private collaboration, combining government funding with private-sector innovation to strengthen U.S. leadership in AI and supercomputing. Beyond research productivity, the initiative also reflects broader strategic competition, with Washington seeking to stay ahead of major rivals such as China in advanced computing infrastructure.
Wright said the systems could help scientists “recreate the center of the sun on Earth,” expressing optimism that plasma stability breakthroughs may emerge within the next few years. Su said the partnership reflects the “speed and agility” needed to accelerate U.S. AI research. If Discovery is deployed on schedule, the project could become a major milestone in the next phase of global computational capability.