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Is AI Making Your Organization More Productive or More Dependent?
Key Takeaways
- Microsoft adds AMD-powered VMs for AI and HPC workloads.
- HDv2, HXv2 and ND MI455X v7 VMs target distinct compute needs.
- AI, engineering and chip design teams gain performance and flexibility advantages.
Microsoft has expanded its Azure AI and high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure with three new virtual machine families powered by AMD's latest processors and Helios AI platform, the company announced Monday.
The move is part of the growing demand for specialized compute across AI inference, data processing and chip design.
"Engineering teams are pushing the limits of simulation, chip design and scientific computing... Azure HX is an important platform for scaling complex EDA workloads, and we're excited about Azure HXv2, which is designed to deliver even greater performance and scalability."
- Mark Papermaster
Executive Vice President & CTO, AMD
Microsoft’s 3 New Offerings for AI Workloads
The three offerings — Azure HDv2, Azure HXv2 and ND MI455X v7 VMs — each address distinct workload categories.
| Azure Offering | Specs | Used For |
|---|---|---|
| Azure HDv2 VMs | ~500 6th Gen AMD EPYC cores, 4 TB RAM, 32 TB NVMe, 400 GB Azure Boost networking | AI data processing |
| Azure HXv2 VMs | 176 6th Gen EPYC cores at >5 GHz, 50% more addressable cache per core, 2-4 TB RAM VM sizes | For electronic design automation (EDA) & technical computing |
| ND MI455X v7 VMs | AMD Helios-powered VMs | For reasoning, search & agentic workloads |
According to Microsoft, the additions give customers a more flexible, heterogeneous platform tuned for performance, cost and energy efficiency.
AMD — whose silicon powers the world's two fastest supercomputers — co-designed the HDv2 VMs and supplies the underlying silicon, while Synopsys has optimized its AI-powered EDA tools for the Azure HX series.
The Bigger Picture: Microsoft’s AI Strategy
Microsoft’s fiscal Q3 2026 revenue hit $82.9 billion (up 18%), with Azure growing 40% and its AI business surpassing a $37 billion annual run rate — up 123% year-over-year.
Part of that growth is a restructured OpenAI partnership in 2025, under which Microsoft holds roughly 27% of OpenAI Group PBC (valued at ~$135 billion), has secured $250 billion in committed Azure purchases and extended its IP rights through 2032.
On the infrastructure side, Microsoft's Cobalt 100 ARM-based VMs now span 32 Azure regions, the Maia 200 next-gen AI accelerator is in development and a July 2026 deal with 3M makes Azure the first hyperscaler to deploy expanded beam optical technology commercially in its data centers.
Despite strong top-line numbers, Microsoft's worst stock quarter since 2008 triggered a significant overhaul. CEO Satya Nadella dissolved the Senior Leadership Team in May 2026, replacing it with a 35-person engineering council and instituting weekly AI ROI reviews — a clear signal that converting infrastructure spend into financial returns is now the primary accountability metric.
Editor's Note: In other Microsoft news...
- Microsoft Taps 3M Optical Tech to Speed Azure AI Data Center Builds — Azure becomes the first hyperscaler to deploy 3M’s EBO technology.
- Microsoft Brings Copilot Cowork AI Agent to General Availability — Microsoft's autonomous AI agent reaches GA for Microsoft 365 Copilot users.
- Inside the Microsoft-OpenAI Deal: New Terms for AGI and Enterprise Cloud — Microsoft and OpenAI expand their AI partnership, introducing new AGI terms, third-party rights and Azure infrastructure commitments.