AMD lifts lid on Helios rack-scale platform and new AI chips at CES 2026 in Las Vegas
The US semiconductor group outlined plans for yotta-scale data centre infrastructure and unveiled new processors for servers, PCs and edge devices as it pushes deeper into artificial intelligence.
AMD has previewed a rack-scale “Helios” platform and announced a new wave of artificial intelligence hardware spanning data centre, client and edge markets at CES 2026.
The company described Helios as a blueprint for yotta-scale infrastructure, designed to deliver up to three AI exaflops in a single rack and optimised for training trillion-parameter models. The platform combines AMD Instinct MI455X accelerators with AMD EPYC “Venice” CPUs and AMD Pensando “Vulcano” network interface cards, unified through the company’s ROCm software ecosystem.
AMD also unveiled the full Instinct MI400 Series and introduced the MI440X GPU aimed at on-premises enterprise AI workloads, while previewing next-generation MI500 Series GPUs planned for launch in 2027. The company said the MI500 Series is on track to deliver up to a 1,000-fold increase in AI performance compared with the MI300X.
“At CES, our partners joined us to show what’s possible when the industry comes together to bring AI everywhere, for everyone,” said Lisa Su, chair and chief executive of AMD.
In the client market, the group introduced Ryzen AI 400 Series and Ryzen AI PRO 400 Series platforms featuring a 60 TOPS neural processing unit and full ROCm support, with first systems shipping in January and broader original equipment manufacturer availability expected in the first quarter. AMD also announced Ryzen AI Max+ 392 and Ryzen AI Max+ 388 platforms, which it said support models of up to 128 billion parameters using 128GB of unified memory, and previewed the Ryzen AI Halo developer platform due in the second quarter.
The company said it is expanding its edge portfolio with Ryzen AI Embedded P100 and X100 Series processors. The keynote also featured Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, who discussed the Genesis Mission, as AMD announced a $150 million commitment to bring AI into more classrooms and communities.
The Recap
- AMD previewed the Helios rack-scale platform at CES 2026.
- Helios can deliver up to three AI exaflops per rack.
- AMD said MI500 GPUs are planned to launch in 2027.
