AMD rises as Microsoft picks Helios for Azure AI workloads
Microsoft’s decision to adopt AMD’s Helios rackscale platform for Azure validates the chipmaker’s challenge to Nvidia’s dominance in enterprise AI computing.
AMD shares climbed more than 1% on Monday after Microsoft committed to using the chipmaker’s upcoming Helios rackscale AI platform to power Azure workloads. The endorsement, coupled with higher price targets from Rosenblatt and UBS, arrives days before AMD hosts its Advancing AI conference in San Francisco.
Securing Microsoft as a customer is a critical commercial validation for Helios as AMD prepares to ship the systems to other tech giants, including Meta and Oracle, later this year. CEO Lisa Su is expected to detail the company's product roadmap and strategic goals during a keynote at the event.
Helios represents AMD’s most direct attempt to erode Nvidia’s grip on the data center AI market. The platform bundles AMD’s Instinct MI455X graphics processing units, Epyc Venice central processing units, Pensando data processing units, and ROCm software into a unified rackscale system. Like Nvidia’s Grace Blackwell and Vera Rubin platforms, Helios connects 72 GPUs within a single rack to handle heavy-duty AI computing, with the ability to link racks into massive clusters.
Nvidia is moving to defend its market lead. The company has already announced its next-generation Kyber rack, which will pack 144 GPUs—double the density of AMD's Helios.
Despite the competitive pressure, Wall Street remains overwhelmingly bullish on AMD. Analysts maintain an 82.4% Buy rating on the stock, with the remaining 17.6% at Hold, according to Bloomberg data. Rosenblatt raised its price target to $655 from $490, while UBS lifted its target to $700 from $670.
The optimism is rooted in a dramatic shift in AMD’s revenue base. Cloud computing companies are rapidly expanding their use of AMD CPUs to support agentic AI workloads, driving data center revenue from $6.5 billion in 2023 to $16.6 billion in 2025. Analysts project that figure will climb even further to $31.2 billion this year.
Those data center gains are helping to buffer weakness elsewhere in the business. AMD’s gaming segment is projected to contract by 25% this year, while client revenue is expected to grow 11%. The stock has already reflected this pivot, surging 139% year to date and 226% over the past 12 months.
