AMD has announced the expansion of its Versal adaptive system on chip (SoC) portfolio with the introduction of the Versal AI Edge Series Gen 2 and Versal Prime Series Gen 2 devices. These new offerings are designed to provide end-to-end acceleration for AI-driven embedded systems, bringing together preprocessing, AI inference, and postprocessing capabilities in a single chip.
The Versal Series Gen 2 portfolio builds upon the success of its predecessor, with the AI Edge Series Gen 2 expected to deliver up to 3x higher TOPs-per-watt compared to the first generation, thanks to its next-gen AI Engines. The integrated Arm CPUs are also set to provide up to 10x more scalar compute than the first-gen Versal AI Edge and Prime series devices.
One of the first customers to announce plans to deploy the Versal AI Edge Series Gen 2 is Subaru Corporation. The automaker has selected these devices for its next-generation advanced driver-assistance system vision system, known as EyeSight.
"Versal AI Edge Gen 2 devices are designed to provide the AI inference performance, ultra-low latency, and functional safety capabilities required to put cutting-edge AI-based safety features in the hands of drivers." - Satoshi Katahira, General Manager of Subaru's Advanced Integration System Department & ADAS Development Department
The Versal AI Edge Series Gen 2 devices incorporate an optimal mix of processors for all three phases of AI-driven embedded system acceleration: FPGA programmable logic for preprocessing, next-gen AI Engines for AI inference, and Arm CPU cores for postprocessing. This single-chip intelligence eliminates the need for multi-chip processing solutions, potentially resulting in smaller, more efficient embedded AI systems with shorter time-to-market.
Meanwhile, the Versal Prime Series Gen 2 offers end-to-end acceleration for traditional, non-AI-based embedded systems by combining programmable logic for sensor processing with high-performance embedded Arm CPUs. With up to 10x more scalar compute compared to the first generation and new hard IP for high-throughput video processing, these devices are well-suited for applications such as ultra-high-definition video streaming and recording, industrial PCs, and flight computers.
AMD's Vivado Design Suite tools and libraries aim to boost productivity and streamline design cycles for embedded hardware system developers, while the Vitis Unified Software Platform enables embedded software, signal processing, and AI design development at users' preferred levels of abstraction.
Designers can access early documentation and first-generation Versal evaluation kits and design tools today. AMD expects availability of Versal Series Gen 2 silicon samples in the first half of 2025, followed by evaluation kits and System-on-Modules samples in mid-2025, with production silicon anticipated in late 2025.