AMDs

AMDs is a common shorthand for Advanced Micro Devices and, by extension, the company’s product lines. The term can refer to the corporation itself as well as its range of computing devices, including CPUs, GPUs, APUs, and semi-custom silicon offerings.

Advanced Micro Devices is an American multinational semiconductor company founded in 1969 by Jerry Sanders and colleagues. Based in Santa Clara, California, AMD designs central processing units, graphics processing units, and related technologies, and it generally outsources manufacturing to semiconductor foundries rather than owning its own fabrication facilities.

Notable milestones in AMD’s history include the 2006 acquisition of ATI Technologies, which expanded its position in graphics hardware, and the development of the Zen microarchitecture for CPUs (with Ryzen and Threadripper lines) alongside the RDNA graphics architecture for GPUs. AMD also produces semi-custom system-on-chips used in contemporary gaming consoles, such as those developed in collaboration with major console makers.

Manufacturing and process technology are largely handled by third-party foundries. AMD historically worked with GlobalFoundries for certain nodes and today relies primarily on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) for fabrication. The company has pursued smaller process nodes to improve performance and energy efficiency, with 7nm and 5nm technologies used across recent generations of CPUs and GPUs.

In the market context, AMD is a major competitor to Intel in CPUs and Nvidia in discrete graphics. Its product families include Ryzen CPUs for mainstream and enthusiast desktops, EPYC server processors, Threadripper high-end desktop CPUs, Radeon GPUs, Instinct accelerators, and semi-custom silicon for gaming consoles. AMD’s emphasis on performance-per-watt and price competitiveness has driven a notable shift in several segments of the computing market.