SiPearl and AMD collaborating to add GPU support to SiPearl's ARM-based HPC processor for European markets.

Chip designer SiPearl is entering a business collaboration with AMD to develop joint offerings for exascale supercomputing systems that pair SiPearl's high-performance Rhea processor with AMD's Instinct GPU accelerators. SiPearl is the company involved with the European Processor Initiative (EPI) to develop an Arm-based processor for an exascale supercomputer designed and built in Europe, slated for 2023. This agreement aims to establish software support and ecosystem readiness for such systems.

AMD and SiPearl will begin by working on the interoperability of AMD's ROCm software stack for developing GPU-accelerated applications with SiPearl's Rhea microprocessor. The collaboration will focus on porting and optimization of AMD's Heterogeneous Interface for Portability (HIP), which was created to let developers write portable code to target both AMD and Nvidia GPUs. The goal is to ensure that a software ecosystem is in place ready for applications to run on any future supercomputer based on SiPearl CPUs combined with AMD Instinct GPUs.

Beyond the core software work, AMD and SiPearl will "engage with OEMs adopting the Rhea microprocessor with AMD Instinct accelerators in their designs," working with hardware companies considering this combination of silicon for building HPC systems. The two companies also hope to expand the joint work to include European research institutions supporting research modeling tools, which would enable developers to port and optimize their applications for systems using a SiPearl/AMD solution. This effort builds on SiPearl's earlier similar agreement with Nvidia and previous work with Intel to enable its Ponte Vecchio GPU and oneAPI software stack in supercomputers using the Rhea processor.

SiPearl CEO and founder Philippe Notton stated that the new AMD deal would "enrich the company's tech" while "providing a broader choice for European supercomputer end-users" and enabling "Europe to tackle the great challenges of our time such as artificial intelligence, climate modelling and medical research." AMD vice president for Data Center and Accelerated Processing Brad McCredie added: "AMD is delighted to engage one step further in the European Ecosystem with SiPearl to jointly offer a clear path to meet exascale supercomputing demands in Europe."

SiPearl's Rhea processor, designed in partnership with Atos, will feature 72 of Arm's Neoverse V1 cores and both DDR5 and high-bandwidth HBM2E memory interfaces. Originally planned for availability this year, the first chips, to be manufactured by TSMC, will now appear in 2023.