Intel and AMD are securing one-to-two-year purchase commitments for server CPUs from Chinese cloud providers and internet companies, with some prices already climbing over 40% since the start of the year and continuing to rise by more than 10% month-on-month. These agreements guarantee unit volumes but do not fix prices, leaving buyers exposed to further price increases and extended lead times, which have stretched from one-to-two weeks to eight-to-twelve weeks or more.
Chinese cloud providers are locking in server CPU supply for AI workloads without price protection, indicating a severe compute supply constraint for non-accelerator components.