AMD Reportedly Taps GlobalFoundries for Silicon Photonics in MI500 AI Push

As AI data centers expand, bandwidth, latency and power consumption in chip-to-chip data transfers have become performance bottlenecks. AMD plans to adopt silicon photonics and co-packaged optics (CPO), integrating optical components into chip packages to improve connectivity and strengthen the infrastructure behind its Instinct accelerators as it competes with Nvidia and other rivals.

Recent market reports say AMD will work with foundry GlobalFoundries to develop a CPO solution for the Instinct MI500 AI accelerator, which is expected to launch in 2027, with a focus on improving bandwidth and energy efficiency. Neither company has formally disclosed the value of the partnership, a signing date, a mass-production timetable or technical specifications. The reported collaboration remains unconfirmed market information.