AMD appears to be gearing up for the AI era with a new line of processors that prioritize artificial intelligence capabilities. A recently leaked Asus laptop listing has inadvertently unveiled the company’s forthcoming “AMD Ryzen AI” CPU branding, signaling a strategic shift towards emphasizing AI performance in its future product offerings.
The leaked listing, spotted on Asus’ laptop comparison tool and subsequently shared on social media, revealed specifications for a new “AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 170” processor. While the listing has since been removed, the screenshot provides valuable insights into AMD’s AI-focused strategy.
According to the leaked information, the “AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 170” CPU boasts 12 cores (24 threads), 36MB of cache, and a peak clock speed of 5.1GHz. Notably, the CPU is listed as featuring AMD Radeon graphics and an impressive AI performance rating of up to 77 TOPS (trillions of operations per second), a measure commonly used to assess AI processing power.
A separate screenshot further reveals that the dedicated AMD XDNA hardware, which is likely the neural processing unit (NPU), delivers an AI performance of 45 TOPS. This aligns with the AI capabilities touted by Intel for its upcoming Lunar Lake architecture, suggesting that AMD’s new Ryzen AI CPUs will be capable of running the forthcoming Windows AI Explorer features in Windows 11.
While AMD has yet to officially confirm these developments, the leaked information indicates a clear emphasis on AI capabilities within the company’s future processor lineup. By incorporating “AI” into the brand name itself, AMD appears to be positioning itself as a formidable competitor in the AI hardware market, which is rapidly gaining significance across various industries.
The new “Ryzen AI” branding represents a departure from AMD’s traditional naming conventions and closely follows Intel’s recent rebranding of its laptop CPUs, ditching the iconic “i” prefix in favor of the “Core” and “Core Ultra” monikers. This move by both industry giants signals a strategic shift towards more descriptive and AI-centric branding as the demand for AI-powered hardware continues to surge.
While the specifics of AMD’s AI strategy and the performance capabilities of the “Ryzen AI” processors remain to be officially unveiled, the leaked information has already sparked discussions and speculation within the tech community. Some have criticized the new naming scheme, while others appreciate the direct reference to AI capabilities, which sets clear expectations for consumers.
As the battle for AI supremacy intensifies, AMD’s embrace of AI-focused branding and hardware design could position the company as a dominant force in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. Only time will tell how the “Ryzen AI” lineup will fare against Intel’s offerings and whether this strategic move will propel AMD to the forefront of the AI hardware market.
