At CES 2026, AMD rolled out a significant update to its Ryzen AI processor family, introducing the new Ryzen AI 400 Series and expanded Ryzen AI Max chips, aiming to challenge both Intel’s latest mobile silicon and Nvidia’s small‑form‑factor AI systems.
The refreshed portfolio builds on AMD’s existing AI‑centric designs, pushing higher performance levels across CPU, GPU, and dedicated neural compute units (NPUs).
Compared with the previous Ryzen AI 300 Series, the new chips deliver improvements in core frequencies, integrated graphics clocks, and AI compute throughput, helping fuel more responsive on‑device artificial intelligence.
Ryzen AI 400 Series Stepping Up the Game
The Ryzen AI 400 Series is aimed squarely at thin‑and‑light laptops and small‑form‑factor PCs certified under Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC program.
The processors ramp up CPU clock speeds to as much as 5.2 GHz and boost NPU performance to around 60 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) — higher than the previous generation’s roughly 55 TOPS peak.
AMD has also teased future socketed desktop variants of the Ryzen AI 400 chips, marking a first for the company’s AI PC lineup and opening the door for more upgradable on‑device AI performance in traditional desktop systems.
Expanded AI Max Chips Target Developers and Power Users
Alongside the mainstream chips, AMD expanded its Ryzen AI Max family, originally launched as a premium AI‑centric series.
The refreshed AI Max processors — with increased GPU compute units and higher performance ceilings — are positioned against compact AI‑capable machines such as Nvidia’s DGX Spark mini workstations.
AMD claims that systems powered by Ryzen AI Max can deliver better performance‑per‑dollar on certain AI inference workloads than comparable Nvidia‑based solutions.
The updated AI Max lineup also boosts the maximum number of integrated GPU cores to 40 and supports up to 128 GB of unified memory for larger models and heavier workloads.
While these chips are clearly aimed at content creators and developers, AMD acknowledges that they’re not intended for the broadest segment of everyday PC buyers.
OEM Support and Market Positioning
OEM partners including Dell, HP, Lenovo and others are expected to ship devices featuring the new Ryzen AI 400 processors by early 2026, with desktop options arriving later in the year.
Through the refreshed portfolio, AMD is seeking to maintain competitiveness against Intel’s new mobile silicon and to carve out a distinct presence against Nvidia’s AI compute platforms in compact workstations.
Overall, this CES announcement reinforces AMD’s strategy of emphasising on‑device AI performance across client, commercial and premium segments, blending traditional CPU and GPU capabilities with dedicated AI compute to deliver richer, more powerful experiences in next‑generation PCs.
