AMD Takes on NVIDIA With the New AI System, Helios Rack
In Focus
- AMD unveiled the Helios rack system at CES 2026 event
- The system matches AMD’s MI455X chips against NVIDIA’s Rubin GPUs
- AMD also unveiled Ryzen AI 400 Series and Ryzen AI Pro 400 series PC chips
Chip manufacturer AMD has revealed its upcoming AI data center platform, the Helios system. According to Yahoo Finance, CEO Lisa Su unveiled the system at the CES 2026 event in Las Vegas on January 5, 2026. While unveiling the new AMD AI chips, Su showcased the Helios rack on stage, saying it was the best AI system in the world.
Challenging NVIDIA’s AI Dominance
AMD’s PC AI chip launch underscores the company’s growing push to challenge NVIDIA’s dominance in the AI data center space. NVIDIA, which became the first company to reach a $5 trillion market valuation last year, has established itself as the benchmark for rack-scale computing.
The AI chipmaker unveiled its newest system, the Vera Rubin NVL72, on January 5, 2025, at the CES event. According to Su, AMD’s Helios rack will compete directly with NVIDIA’s NVL systems. The AI system matches 72 of AMD’s MI455X accelerators against the 72 Rubin GPUs used in NVIDIA’s newest NVL72 system.
AMD discussed its upcoming MI500 series data center processors at the 2026 CES event, where AI has taken centerstage. The company said the new processors will offer 1,000x higher AI performance than its MI300X chips.
AMD launched AI chips at the CES 2026 event months after entering a deal to supply AI chips to Oracle for its cloud infrastructure. Under the deal, the chipmaker will supply 50,000 of its MI450 AI chips to the software tech giant.
AMD’s Robotics and PC Chip Showcase
AMD’s CES 2026 reveal also involved showcasing the company’s work in the robotics industry. AMD invited Generative Bionics, a company it has invested in to showcase a humanoid robot called GENE.01. The robot, which is designed to operate in industrial environments, is powered by AMD’s GPUs and CPUs.
AMD unveiled Ryzen AI 400 Series and Ryzen AI Pro 400 series PC chips at the event. The chips will compete with Intel’s Core Ultra 3 processors developed using the 18A process technology. NVIDIA recently paused trials on the 18A technology, but Intel is using it for mass chip production in its Arizona plant. According to AMD, the new PC processors offer up to 12 high-performance CPU cores, which is ideal for customers who need high processing power.
AMD’s Take on Future AI Growth
AMD expects AI usage to soar significantly over the next five years, with about 5 billion people using the technology every day. Tech companies must boost their capacity 100 times to meet the demand for computing power.
AMD and NVIDIA will benefit immensely from this growth. Last year, AMD’s data center unit benefited from soaring AI demand. In November 2025, AMD stock surged 5% after the company gave strong long-term growth projections. The chipmaker’s share price has gained 76% over the past year.
