AMD will begin supplying its Helios AI systems to Microsoft in the second half of this year, the company announced on July 20.

Microsoft will deploy Helios in its Azure cloud platform to support customer AI models and inference workloads. The rollout expands the partnership between the two companies following Microsoft's adoption of AMD's MI300X graphics processing units (GPUs) in 2023.

Microsoft will also introduce two new virtual machine (VM) series, Azure HDv2 and Azure HXv2. The companies jointly designed the HDv2 VM platform, which is optimized for agentic AI workloads, while the HXv2 series targets electronic design automation (EDA) applications.

Beyond Microsoft, AMD has secured Meta, OpenAI, and Oracle as Helios customers.

Meta announced in February that it plans to deploy AMD GPUs across 6 gigawatts (GW) of AI infrastructure and is expected to utilize approximately 1GW of Helios capacity this year. OpenAI and Oracle also plan to deploy Helios beginning this year.

Helios is AMD's rack-scale AI system that integrates GPUs, central processing units (CPUs), networking equipment and cooling infrastructure into a single platform. AMD first unveiled plans earlier this year to launch the system in the second half of 2026.

Each Helios rack is equipped with 72 AMD Instinct MI455X GPUs and 18 sixth-generation EPYC "Venice" CPUs. Built on an open rack architecture, the platform is compatible with third-party GPUs and CPUs.

The system also incorporates AMD's Pensando data processing unit (DPU). AMD strengthened its networking portfolio through the acquisition of Pensando Systems in 2022.

The MI455X is AMD's first GPU to feature HBM4 (High Bandwidth Memory 4). In March, AMD signed a strategic memorandum of understanding with Samsung Electronics to use Samsung's HBM4 memory in the MI455X.

Samsung's HBM4 delivers data transfer speeds of up to 13 Gbps and memory bandwidth of 3.3 TB/s.

Samsung Electronics is preparing to build a production-scale die-to-wafer (D2W) hybrid bonding line equipped with approximately 50 bonders at its Pyeongtaek semiconductor campus to support next-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and advanced logic chips. Equipment installation is expected to begin toward the end of this year.

According to industry sources on July 21, Samsung has selected Dutch advanced packaging equipment maker BE Semiconductor Industries (BESI) as its preferred supplier and has begun the procurement process for around 50 D2W hybrid bonding systems. The line is expected to be installed in the P5 fab at the Pyeongtaek campus.

Richard Blickman, chief executive officer of BESI, previously said during the company's first-quarter earnings call in April 2026 that "more definitive developments" regarding Samsung's adoption of its hybrid bonders were expected around the middle of this year. At the time, BESI's hybrid bonding equipment was undergoing Samsung's qualification process.

The order, however, has yet to be finalized. Samsung has requested design modifications to the equipment, delaying agreement on delivery schedules. Such modifications involve changes to system architecture, components or modules to meet customer-specific requirements.

Pricing has also complicated negotiations. Industry sources estimate that BESI's hybrid bonders cost roughly 6 billion won per unit—about twice the price of competing systems.

"BESI supplies hybrid bonders to companies such as TSMC and Micron, and it is reluctant to redesign its equipment exclusively for Samsung," one industry source said. "Samsung still considers BESI's technology the strongest option, but as negotiations become more complicated, it is also evaluating domestic suppliers that can respond more quickly to its requirements."

Samsung's semiconductor equipment subsidiary Semes has also been asked to provide D2W hybrid bonders for the production line and is hoping to supply equipment for two hybrid bonding production lines at the Pyeongtaek campus.

"Semes initially felt significant pressure after Samsung prioritized BESI, but sentiment has shifted recently," another industry source said.

Semes completed development of its D2W hybrid bonder earlier this year and delivered evaluation units to Samsung for performance verification. Industry sources believe the equipment has successfully passed internal testing.

Samsung is also considering Hanwha Semitech as a potential supplier. The company completed development of its second-generation D2W hybrid bonder, SHB2 Nano, in February and delivered an evaluation system to SK hynix in April 2026.

The evaluation platform was supplied as an integrated cluster that combined Hanwha Semitech's bonder and plasma activation module with an EFEM (Equipment Front End Module) from CyMechs and a wafer cleaning module from Zeus.

Samsung's investment in a D2W hybrid bonding production line at Pyeongtaek is closely tied to advanced packaging for HBM and logic semiconductors.

In addition to its existing advanced packaging operations in Cheonan, Samsung is developing next-generation hybrid bonding capabilities at Pyeongtaek for future HBM products.

Replacing conventional thermo-compression (TC) bonding with hybrid copper bonding (HCB) between HBM DRAM dies can significantly improve performance, reduce power consumption and lower heat generation. The technology directly bonds copper and dielectric materials without using microbumps, shortening interconnect distances between chips.

The technology is expected to play a key role in custom HBM (cHBM). Samsung plans to replace the conventional HBM base die with a customer-specific logic die incorporating proprietary compute intellectual property (IP). The logic die will complement external CPUs and GPUs while optimizing data transfer, with HBM DRAM stacks vertically integrated above it in a 3D system-in-package (SiP) architecture.

In June 2026, Samsung Foundry introduced 3D Cube-H, its next-generation hybrid bonding-based 3D vertical stacking solution. The heterogeneous integration technology targets AI chips and high-performance computing (HPC) systems, offering improvements in performance, power efficiency and bandwidth over existing packaging technologies. Samsung Foundry is actively promoting the technology to customers.

Hybrid bonding equipment is expected to begin arriving at Samsung's Pyeongtaek campus later this year. Internally, however, Samsung is targeting 2030 for large-scale commercial production using hybrid bonding, reflecting the technology's greater manufacturing complexity compared with conventional TC bonding.

One industry source said widespread adoption of hybrid bonding is likely to coincide with the introduction of NVIDIA's next-generation Feynman AI accelerator, expected around 2029.

AMD on July 20 announced the launch of the Ryzen 7 7700X3D, a new processor designed to enhance gaming performance using the company's proprietary 3D V-Cache technology. The processor is priced at $329.

The Ryzen 7 7700X3D is an enhanced version of the Ryzen 7 7700X aimed at the high-end PC market. Its primary distinction from the existing model is the addition of AMD's 3D V-Cache technology. According to the company's internal testing, the new processor delivers up to 9% higher gaming performance than the Ryzen 7 7700X. It is compatible with AMD's AM5 platform.

3D V-Cache is a packaging technology that vertically stacks additional cache memory on top of the processor cores. In this configuration, the stacked cache die sits between the cores and the cooler, which limits heat dissipation — a key reason AMD caps clock speeds on first-generation 3D V-Cache chips such as the 7700X3D. AMD currently employs 3D V-Cache technology across its Ryzen and EPYC processor families.

The Ryzen 7 7700X3D supports DDR5 memory with capacities of up to 128GB. It features a total cache capacity of 104MB, a 120W thermal design power (TDP), and a maximum boost clock of 4.5GHz. The processor is equipped with eight cores and 16 threads and is designed to operate at temperatures of up to 89 degrees Celsius.

They make much of the gear that goes into giant data centers. Demand for their products is shifting the balance of tech power.