AMD’s Advancing AI event puts MI500 and CPO roadmap in focus

AMD is set to host its Advancing AI event in San Francisco on July 22-23, where the company is expected to share more details on its MI500 GPU series and its scale-up co-packaged optics, or CPO, roadmap. In comments relayed by Serenity, the key issue is whether AMD will explicitly commit to a CPO approach and identify its optical engine supplier. If that happens, Serenity said, the development would be positive for the broader CPO theme because it would show that the push toward optical interconnects is no longer driven by Nvidia alone. Jefferies analyst Blayne Curtis currently expects AMD to work with Astera Labs on UAL and with Broadcom on ESUN, but Serenity said the market still needs to see whether AMD formally shifts to a CPO-based scale-up design. The firm added that supply-chain signals should become clearer only after the event, while Sivers remains tied to the story through indirect links involving GlobalFoundries and Ayar Labs.