AMD Helion agentic AI rack supports up to 32,768 CPU cores

AMD on Monday introduced Helion, an open rack blueprint for agentic AI whose CPU-only configuration can support up to 32,768 CPU cores built on 6th Gen AMD EPYC processors.

The design is based on an Open Compute Project spec and is aimed at the work AI agents do, from code execution to complex workflows. AMD said customers can match CPU performance, core density and power with GPU acceleration for those tasks.

“Agentic AI is not a single workload,” said Dan McNamara, senior vice president and general manager, Compute and Enterprise AI, AMD. “It spans personal agents, enterprise applications, code execution and complex workflows, each with different compute requirements.”

“Today we introduced Helion, an open, flexible rack for agentic AI,” AMD CEO Lisa Su said in a post on X Monday night.

The CPU-only rack is designed for hyperscale customers, providing dedicated capacity for agent execution with connections to separate model inference infrastructure, according to the release. A second, all-in-one rack combines EPYC CPU nodes, AMD Instinct MI350P GPU nodes and general-purpose compute on one platform for enterprise customers. Helion comes in liquid- and air-cooled versions and includes an integrated token router that directs agents’ model calls across frontier and open-source models, AMD said.

Hardware makers have a stake in the design. AMD’s release carried supporting statements from Cisco, Dell Technologies, Hon Hai Technology Group, HPE, Lenovo, QCT, Supermicro and Wiwynn. Dell said its support for the reference design extends the promise of its PowerRack line “to the next generation of agentic AI.” HPE said it is “continuing to advance” open standards work with AMD through Helion.

What’s next

AMD said Helion configurations are under development with ecosystem partners and are planned to be available in November 2026. In a post on its X account Monday, however, AMD said the new Agentic AI Rack is planned for the first half of 2027. The company plans to contribute the Helion specification to the Open Compute Project for further development and adoption.