Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) is accelerating the release of its new artificial intelligence (AI) processors to challenge Nvidia Corp.’s dominance in the AI chip market. During the opening keynote address at the Computex 2024 conference, AMD Chief Executive Officer Lisa Su announced a series of new AI chips and processors at various segments from data centers to consumer laptops.
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The new MI325X, is set to succeed the MI300 and will be available in the fourth quarter of 2024. This model features enhanced memory capacity and faster data throughput.
AMD plans to follow up with the MI350 in 2025 and the MI400 in 2026, adopting an annual release cycle similar to Nvidia’s.
AMD plans to increase its sales target for AI accelerators to $4 billion in 2024, a jump from its previous near-zero sales in this segment last year.
Nvidia’s data center unit is projected to surpass $100 billion in annual sales, far outpacing AMD and Intel’s combined total annual revenue.
The new Ryzen AI 300 series known as Strix Point will be available starting July. These processors integrate RDNA 3.5 mobile graphics, XDNA 2 neural processing units and the latest Zen 5 cores targeting AI tasks in laptops.
Su was joined on stage by partners including HP Inc. CEO Enrique Lores, Lenovo Group Ltd. Executive Vice President Luca Rossi, and Asustek Computer Inc. Chairman Jonney Shih. Microsoft’s Windows chief Pavan Davuluri also highlighted the collaboration with AMD on the Copilot+ PC project.
The Ryzen 9 9950X was unveiled as the fastest consumer CPU globally boasting 16 cores and clock speeds up to 5.7GHz in boost mode.
Nvidia introduced its Rubin AI platform, set to launch in 2026 continuing its innovation cycle with a new AI chip release each year.
AMD has made strides in the AI market but remains far behind Nvidia’s dominant 80% market share. AMD’s share price has doubled in the past year, whereas Nvidia’s has tripled.
Like Nvidia, AMD outsources its chip manufacturing to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) leveraging their production capabilities.
The MI325X, part of AMD’s Instinct line promises improvements over its predecessor with increased memory and faster data throughput, crucial for handling the demands of modern AI training systems. This accelerator will be important in AMD’s strategy to capture a larger slice of the AI hardware market.
The MI350, scheduled for 2025, and the MI400, planned for 2026, represent AMD’s commitment to annual updates.
The MI350 is expected to deliver 35 times the inference performance of the MI300, indicating a leap in capability that will be crucial for maintaining competitiveness against Nvidia’s offerings.
This series will play a role in consumer electronics particularly in laptops designed for AI-enhanced tasks. The Strix Point processors combine multiple advanced architectures including RDNA 3.5 for graphics, XDNA 2 for neural processing, and Zen 5 for core processing.
Collaborations with industry leaders such as HP, Lenovo, Asus, and Microsoft highlight AMD’s integrated approach to market penetration.
These partnerships are vital for AMD to ensure its new AI processors are widely adopted in various consumer and enterprise devices.
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Lisa Su said, “We are at the beginning of an incredibly exciting time for the industry as AI transforms virtually every business, improves our quality of life, and reshapes every part of the computing market.”
AMD also introduced the Ryzen 9000 series for desktops, positioned as the world’s fastest consumer PC processors. These processors is built on the Zen 5 architecture, are designed for gaming and content creation.
The new Ryzen AI 300 series includes models like the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 and Ryzen AI 9 365, featuring 50 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) NPU performance.
These processors are tailored to deliver AI capabilities in consumer laptops, enhancing tasks such as real-time data analysis and complex computations.
The Ryzen AI 300 series will be available in select laptops from July 2024 including models from Asus and HP. The latest generation of CPUs in the Ryzen 9000 series is expected to hit the market in the second half of 2024.
On June 2, 2024, Jensen Huang, co-founder and CEO of Nvidia addressed a gathering at National Taiwan University in Taipei, where he unveiled the Rubin platform. Set for release in 2026, this platform will succeed the Blackwell, which was announced in March and hailed as the “world’s most powerful chip.”
Components of Rubin:
- New GPUs: Featuring advanced graphics processing units.
- New CPU (Vera): A next-generation central processing unit.
- Networking Chips: Designed to enhance connectivity and performance.
Nvidia currently commands around 70% of the AI semiconductor market. The company’s stock has surged more than doubling in the past year.
Richard Windsor, founder of Radio Free Mobile, said, “Nvidia clearly intends to keep its dominance for as long as possible, and in the current generation, there is nothing really on the horizon to challenge that.”
On June 3, 2024, AMD CEO Lisa Su introduced the company’s latest AI processors at the Computex technology trade show in Taipei. The MI325X accelerator is set to be available in the fourth quarter of this year.
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New Product Development:
- MI325X Accelerator: Available Q4 2024.
- MI350: Expected in 2025, promising a 35-fold improvement in inference performance over the current MI300 series.
- MI400: Slated for 2026, based on the new “Next” architecture.
- Annual Cadence: AMD has followed Nvidia’s strategy by committing to a yearly release cycle for its AI chips.
AMD’s shares have more than doubled since early 2023 though still lagging behind Nvidia’s seven-fold increase. Su projected AI chip sales of approximately $4 billion for 2024, an increase of $500 million from prior estimates.
AMD’s new Ryzen AI 300 series chipsets, designed for AI PCs will power Microsoft’s new AI PCs. This partnership highlights AMD’s focus on integrating AI capabilities into consumer and business computing.
Intel is set to unveil its next-generation desktop CPUs, Arrow Lake, in the fourth quarter of this year. Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger is scheduled to speak at Computex on June 4, 2024.
While Intel’s market share in AI semiconductors is currently behind Nvidia and AMD, the company’s forthcoming releases are anticipated.
The global race to develop generative AI applications has fueled demand for advanced chips, which are essential for data centers that support these AI systems. This demand has driven investor interest and stock gains for leading chipmakers.
Both Nvidia and AMD have reiterated that AI is their number one priority. AMD’s Su highlighted the exciting era ahead, stating, “AI transforms virtually every business, improves our quality of life, and reshapes every part of the computing market.”
Investors have been highly optimistic about the prospects of chip firms involved in AI. Nvidia’s accelerated release schedule and AMD’s aggressive development plans have been well received in the market.
AMD’s shares rose by 1.4% following the announcement, while Nvidia saw a 3% increase pre-market. These movements show investor confidence in the companies’ strategies to capture more market share.
The Rubin platform’s integration of new GPUs, CPUs, and networking chips positions Nvidia to continue setting the benchmark in AI performance. AMD’s MI325X and future MI350 and MI400 series aim to enhance AI processing capabilities.
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