TLDR
- Advanced Micro Devices and Celestica revealed a partnership focused on the Helios rack-scale AI platform
- Celestica’s responsibilities include research, development, design, and production of scale-up networking switches
- These switches will interconnect AMD’s upcoming Instinct MI450 Series GPUs designed for expansive AI clusters
- The Helios platform leverages the Open Compute Project Open-Rack-Wide standard and employs Ultra Accelerator Link over Ethernet technology
- Customer deployments are expected in late 2026; AMD shares increased approximately 1% in premarket trading Monday
Advanced Micro Devices has joined forces with Celestica (CLS) to develop an innovative rack-scale AI platform known as Helios. This infrastructure solution targets demanding AI training and inference operations across cloud computing, enterprise deployments, and research facilities.
Celestica’s involvement centers on the research and development, engineering design, and production of advanced networking switches that form the backbone of the Helios architecture. The company is building these components according to the Open Compute Project Open-Rack-Wide specification — an increasingly popular open-source standard within hyperscale data center operations.
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., AMD
The networking chips powering these switches facilitate rapid interconnection among AMD’s forthcoming Instinct MI450 Series graphics processors. The system leverages Ultra Accelerator Link over Ethernet technology for scale-up connectivity, which serves as a critical mechanism for maintaining high-speed communication across GPU clusters.
Rack-scale AI infrastructure represents a shift where an entire rack functions as the fundamental computing unit rather than individual servers. This approach integrates GPUs, rapid networking infrastructure, and liquid cooling into one cohesive system. The architecture aims to efficiently handle the training requirements of large language models operating at scale.
“Helios represents a new blueprint for AI infrastructure,” said Forrest Norrod, AMD’s executive vice president and general manager of Data Center Solutions. He said it enables customers to deploy AI with the performance, efficiency, and flexibility needed for next-generation workloads.
Steven Dorwart, senior vice president at Celestica, said deploying AI at scale requires infrastructure that can be delivered quickly and consistently. Celestica’s role in Helios leans on its existing strengths in data center design, engineering, and supply chain.
AMD’s Market Performance and Growth Trajectory
AMD currently maintains a market capitalization near $315 billion and has delivered a 92% gain over the trailing twelve months as AI infrastructure demand has accelerated. The Helios platform launch arrives as AMD expands its presence in the competitive data center GPU sector.
Analysts at UBS maintain a Buy recommendation on AMD with a $310 price objective, highlighting revenue expansion opportunities extending through 2027. The firm has identified potential for AMD to secure a third major hyperscaler client for its data center offerings, with Microsoft emerging as a probable prospect.
Wolfe Research maintains an Outperform stance on AMD, emphasizing the company’s server market traction and its AI accelerator development pipeline as primary catalysts.
Additional Strategic Agreements and Collaborations
Separate from Helios, AMD recently finalized a multi-year licensing deal with Adeia Inc., providing AMD with access to Adeia’s semiconductor intellectual property collection while resolving all outstanding legal disputes between the parties.
Avalon GloboCare has gained acceptance into AMD’s AI Developer Program, granting the company access to AMD’s development tools and resources for artificial intelligence applications.
AMD shares advanced roughly 1% in premarket trading Monday following the Helios platform announcement. Celestica stock jumped approximately 3% during the same trading period.
The AMD Helios platform is slated for customer availability in late 2026.
