AMD introduces the Alveo MA35D. It is a video processing accelerator that is a direct result of the Xilinx acquisition.

Xilinx is AMD and Xilinx products are AMD products. Not only legally, but also in name. Gilles Garcia, AMD’s senior director, business lead data center and communications group, emphasized this during a conversation at MWC earlier this year. So today we see the launch of the AMD Alveo MA35D and not the Xilinx Alveo MA35D. However, the thing follows directly the Xilinx Alveo U30.

transcode

The accelerator aims to help customers transcode video-related workloads more efficiently. The chip can swallow up to 32 FHD video streams while consuming less power than its less powerful predecessor. AMD speaks of one watt per video stream. The Alveo MA35D is therefore ideal for content providers who offer (live) video.

AMD builds the ASIC on a 5 nm architecture. The component contains two video processing units or VPUs optimized for the AV1 compression standard. The VPU takes care of everything related to video processing. That should improve latency. A 1U server can accommodate eight Alveo cards.

Xilinx pays off

The AMD Alveo MA35D is a nice example of the what and why of AMD’s $35 billion acquisition of Xilinx. The products of the former Xilinx help AMD penetrate niche markets with a very relevant offering. The accelerators are already in demand there, but they never work on their own. The cards belong in servers, and these servers need processors. And why couldn’t this CPU be an AMD Epyc?

The first samples of the new accelerator are currently being shared with a handful of customers. Wide availability will follow in the third quarter of this year.