The AI race isn’t all about tech giants trying to create bigger and better chatbots. It includes the chipmakers powering the latest AI-enabled devices and models, too.
U.S.-based chip designer Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) announced new processors for AI-enabled laptops and desktops on Tuesday. The new AMD Ryzen PRO 8040 Series processors are made for business laptops and mobile workstations, while the AMD Ryzen PRO 8000 Series processor is “the first AI enabled desktop processor for business users,” the company said in a statement, adding that the new chips will expand AMD’s “commercial mobile and desktop AI PC portfolio.” AI PCs are personal computers built with hardware and software that enable it to handle AI tasks on the device, such as running large language models (LLMs) and AI-powered apps. Both processors are built with advanced 4-nanometer technology, AMD said.
“AMD delivers the broadest portfolio of AI technologies to address the needs of the modern business,” Jack Huynh, senior vice president and general manager, Computing and Graphics Group at AMD, said in a statement. “As we continue to expand our AI PC leadership, we are bringing more power and efficiency to a wide array of desktops and mobile PCs.”
The company’s new processors “set a new standard for premium computing experiences and help businesses deploy AI capabilities across their PCs with leadership performance and security,” Huynh added.
The Ryzen PRO 8040 Series processors for laptops and mobile workstations are expected to be available in AMD’s partners’ devices, including HP and Lenovo, in the second quarter of this year, AMD said.
AMD’s new chips will compete with those from Nvidia and Intel, which are also designing chips for AI PCs. Both Nvidia and AMD are customers of semiconductor leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which produces an estimated 90% of the world’s advanced chips.
In March, it was reported AMD tried to stop its rival Intel from selling advanced chips to China-based tech company Huawei, arguing that Intel’s license to do so was unfair because AMD does not have a similar license. Intel received special permission from the Trump administration in September 2020 to sell advanced chips to Huawei, which was put on a trade blacklist in 2019 with over 275 other Chinese firms.