AMD and Microsoft expand Azure AI infrastructure partnership

AMD announced an expanded strategic partnership with Microsoft Azure spanning GPUs, CPUs, networking, and software for AI infrastructure.

• Microsoft will deploy the AMD Helios Rackscale Solution on Azure to power frontier model AI inference for Microsoft, its AI customers, and Azure AI services; AMD says it will begin shipping Helios to customers, including Microsoft, in 2H 2026.
• Azure will add two new VM series powered by 6th Gen AMD EPYC “Venice” processors: Azure HDv2 for agentic AI and data pipelines, and Azure HXv2 for semiconductor design; Microsoft will also broaden deployment of AMD Pensando DPUs and integrate Azure Boost with AMD technologies to improve networking performance at cloud scale.