AMD has historically lagged behind in software development for PCs, but company executives assert that this is changing. The focus of the recent Advancing AI event was on enterprise-class GPUs, particularly the Instinct series, but a lesser-known software platform, ROCm, is equally crucial to AMD’s vision.
With the release of ROCm 7, AMD claims it can enhance AI inferencing performance by three times purely through software enhancements. Notably, ROCm is also being introduced to Windows, challenging Nvidia’s dominance with CUDA.
Radeon Open Compute (ROCm) serves as AMD’s open software environment for AI computing, providing drivers and tools essential for executing AI workloads. Previously, AMD faced challenges similar to those of Nvidia, where advanced GPUs lacked the necessary software drivers to be functional.
Initially, AMD chose to concentrate on big enterprises with ROCm and its GPU offerings rather than consumer PCs, as noted by corporate vice president Ramine Roane. He acknowledged that focusing on cloud GPUs sometimes resulted in inadequate support for endpoint devices, a situation they are now addressing.
As the tech landscape matures, having the best product is no longer sufficient; capturing the minds of developers and partners is essential. Roane emphasized that recognizing the preferences of AI developers—including their preference for Windows—was a lesson learned too late.
With ROCm set to be supported by PyTorch in 2025 and ONNX-EP in July, AMD is positioning itself to expand its presence in the AI space. The upcoming ROCm release not only increases compatibility but also shows substantial performance enhancements.
For example, users can expect remarkable performance boosts for various AI models in comparison to previous versions. Despite AMD’s strides in hardware, it still lacks a dedicated consumer-facing AI application, a gap that has been filled by competitors like Intel and Nvidia.
Roane indicated that while tailored models for AMD hardware exist, they must be sourced from repositories, limiting accessibility for average consumers.