Competition in the AI segment: AMD’s Instinct GPUs challenge NVIDIA

AMD claims that its Instinct GPUs have forced NVIDIA to accelerate its AI roadmap, and promises no mercy in the future. In a recent interview with CRN, Forrest Norrod, executive vice president and general manager of the Data Center Solutions Business Group at AMD, revealed some interesting details about the company’s AI strategy and the impact it will have on the market.

A key point is the acceleration of AMD’s Instinct roadmap to an annual rhythm. This ties in with the observation that NVIDIA has also shifted its own plans for data center AI to annual updates. Both AMD and Intel appear to be driving the AI train at full speed, with demand for solutions in this area continuing to grow strongly.

Forrest Norrod underscores AMD’s commitment to continued innovation in the AI space. Driven by the support of CEO Lisa Su, the company is investing heavily in research and development and has an extensive portfolio of Instinct AI accelerators in the pipeline. These include the MI325, MI350 and MI400 series, which are scheduled for launch between 2024 and 2026.

Norrod notes that the recent acceleration of NVIDIA’s AI roadmap was triggered by the “holy crap” moment that was the launch of the AMD Instinct MI300 in 2023. In response, NVIDIA accelerated its own plans to maintain its lead. However, AMD is determined not to be left behind in the competition and continues to invest heavily in R&D and chip production.

AMD’s upcoming MI325 and MI350 accelerators are designed to further close the gap with NVIDIA’s offerings. The MI325X, which is set to launch later this year, is expected to outperform the NVIDIA Hopper H200 and compete on several fronts with the Blackwell B100, which will be released later in 2024. The battle will intensify further in 2025 with the MI350 series and AMD’s Blackwell B200.

AMD emphasizes the benefits of its open ecosystem based on the UE (Ultra Ethernet) and UAL (Ultra Accelerator Link) platforms. This offers customers more choice and flexibility compared to NVIDIA’s proprietary solutions. With regard to the prices recently announced by Intel for Gaudi 3 accelerators, Norrod expresses doubts about their realism. He assumes that the actual sales price will be significantly lower than the list prices, which he describes as a marketing strategy.

The AI market is intensely competitive, with AMD, NVIDIA and Intel all vying for supremacy. AMD’s annual cadence for Instinct accelerators, upcoming MI325 and MI350 products, and open ecosystem position the company well to continue competing in this dynamic space.

Source: CRN