Advanced Micro Devices (AMD, Financial) is forging strong ties with AI startups to enhance its software capabilities and improve chip designs. As AI companies seek alternatives to NVIDIA chips, AMD is expanding its hardware lineup by acquiring companies like server manufacturer ZT Systems to build a competitive hardware portfolio. However, successful chip product lines require robust software to efficiently run AI developers' programs.
Recently, AMD acquired several small software companies to bolster its talent pool and strengthen its software ecosystem, known as ROCm. AMD's Senior Vice President of AI, Vamsi Boppana, emphasized the company's commitment to a thoughtful and gradual long-term journey in optimizing ROCm and other software, benefiting AI startups like Cohere. Cohere focuses on customizing AI models for large enterprises, unlike foundational AI models targeted by companies like OpenAI.
Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez noted significant progress in AMD's software improvements, reducing the time to migrate Cohere software to AMD chips from weeks to days. Although Gomez did not specify the dependency of Cohere software on AMD chips, he acknowledged its importance in their global computing infrastructure.
OpenAI has significantly influenced the design of AMD's upcoming MI450 series AI chips, which will underpin the new "Helios" server slated for next year. OpenAI's feedback has impacted the memory architecture and scalability of the MI450 series, enhancing its capability to support AI applications. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman highlighted the collaboration between the two companies at an AMD event in San Jose.
