AMD launches Helios, its first rack AI system to rival Nvidia, adding Microsoft as newest buyer - CNBC

What the report says

CNBC reports that Advanced Micro Devices is preparing to ship Helios, its first rack-scale artificial intelligence system, with Microsoft now among its early buyers. Microsoft said Monday that it will deploy Helios racks in Azure data centers, joining Meta, OpenAI, Oracle and others. AMD plans to begin customer shipments later this year, and the companies did not disclose financial terms or the amount of computing capacity involved.

Helios is AMD’s most direct attempt yet to challenge Nvidia’s dominant AI data center systems, including Grace Blackwell and the upcoming Vera Rubin platform. CNBC said it received an exclusive look at the system in a Texas development and testing lab. The rack combines AMD graphics processors, EPYC central processors, networking components and software, reflecting the company’s effort to offer a more complete alternative rather than selling individual chips alone.

The Microsoft deployment is intended to support frontier-model inference, Azure AI services and customers building AI applications, according to CNBC. Microsoft will also add new Azure instances using AMD’s latest “Venice” CPUs for workloads such as agentic AI, data pipelines and semiconductor design. The move extends a longstanding relationship between the companies, which has included AMD chips in Surface devices, Xbox consoles and earlier AI infrastructure.

CNBC notes that Nvidia still controls the overwhelming share of the data center GPU market, while AMD remains a much smaller player. Analysts cited in the report said Helios could help AMD gain ground if early deployments perform well, though Nvidia’s software ecosystem remains a major advantage. The report also says AMD expects large data center AI revenue beginning in 2027, with Helios playing a central role.