AMD unveils new chip for corporate data centres, talks up demand
The company is widely regarded as the closest rival to Nvidia in the market for chips that create and run AI software
[SAN FRANCISCO] Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), aiming to make a dent in Nvidia’s stranglehold on the artificial intelligence (AI) hardware market, announced a new chip for corporate data centre use and talked up the attributes of a future generation of products for that market.
The company is adding a new model to its current lineup, one called the MI440X, for use in smaller corporate data centres where customers can deploy local hardware and keep data inside their own facilities. The announcement came as part of a keynote at the CES trade show, where chief executive officer Lisa Su also touted AMD’s top-of-the-line MI455X, saying systems based on that chip are a leap forward in the capabilities on offer.
Su also added her voice to a chorus of US tech executives, including her counterpart at Nvidia, arguing that the AI surge will continue because of the benefits it’s bringing and the heavy computing requirements of that new technology.
“We don’t have nearly enough compute for what we could possibly do,” Su said. “The rate and pace of AI innovation has been incredible over the last few years. We are just getting started.”
AMD is widely regarded as the closest rival to Nvidia in the market for chips that create and run AI software. The company has created a new multibillion-dollar business out of AI chips in the last couple of years, boosting its revenue and earnings. Investors who have bid up its stock want it to show greater progress in winning some of the tens of billions of US dollars in orders that Nvidia rakes in.
AMD’s Helios system based on the MI455X and the new Venice central process unit design will go on sale later this year. OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman joined Su on the CES stage in Las Vegas to talk up its partnership with AMD and plans for future deployment of its systems. The two talked about their shared belief that future economic growth will be tied to the availability of AI resources.
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The new chip, MI440X, will fit in compact computers in existing smaller data centres. Su also gave a preview of the forthcoming MI500 series of processors that will debut in 2027. That range will deliver up to 1,000 times the performance of the MI300 series that were first rolled out in 2023, Su said. BLOOMBERG
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