AMD Unveils Instinct MI455X Accelerator and Helios Rack for AI

At the AMD Advancing AI 2026 event, company head Lisa Su introduced the new Instinct MI455X accelerator and the Helios rack platform, both aimed at artificial intelligence workloads.

Instinct MI455X

The Instinct MI455X is built on a 2 nm process and carries 432 GB of HBM4 memory on board. In peak performance for the MXFP8 and MXFP4 formats, AMD says the newcomer is four times faster than its predecessor, the Instinct MI355X — a remarkably big leap between generations. The 50% increase in memory capacity makes it possible to fit larger models.

The Helios Platform

Alongside the accelerator, AMD showed off the long-awaited Helios platform, which brings together EPYC Venice processors, Instinct MI455X accelerators and Pensando networking. According to Phoronix, the system makes a strong impression in person in San Francisco.

Helios is already in full production. Shipments will begin closer to the end of the current quarter, with volume ramping in the fourth quarter and the first half of 2027. Each rack offers 4,600 CPU cores and 18,000 GPU compute units.

What Comes Next

AMD reaffirmed its earlier roadmap for future generations: the Instinct MI500 series is expected in 2027, and the Instinct MI600 in 2028.

Source: Phoronix