AMD has announced a major expansion in Serbia, strengthening its AI software ecosystem through two new R&D centers in Belgrade and Niš. The initiative reflects AMD’s strategy to evolve beyond hardware and establish itself as a software-driven company, enabling developers to run AI workloads on a broader range of devices including Radeon GPUs and Ryzen APUs.
New Data Centers in Belgrade and Niš #
The Serbian expansion is anchored by new data centers dedicated to software development and AI infrastructure. According to Andrej Zdravkovic, AMD’s Senior Vice President and Chief Software Officer, the teams will focus on:
- Extending ROCm (Radeon Open Compute) support to Radeon GPUs and APUs
- Developing subsystems for data center AI acceleration
- Advancing RTL design, hardware validation, and GPU virtualization
- Enhancing content protection and security features
“We’re building a mature design center,” Zdravkovic explained in an interview with TechPowerUp. “Beyond data center AI technology, our new teams will expand ROCm for Radeon graphics. This means everyone can run AI on AMD GPUs and APUs, not just in the data center.”
ROCm Expands Beyond the Data Center #
Historically limited to AMD’s Instinct accelerators, ROCm is now being expanded to consumer GPUs and APUs, a move that opens the door for developers and enthusiasts. With ROCm support coming to Ryzen APUs and Radeon graphics cards, AMD is lowering the barrier for AI and ML software development across its ecosystem.
The expansion aligns with the recent rollout of ROCm support for Strix Halo, reinforcing AMD’s strategy to enable AI-capable PCs equipped with CPU, GPU, and NPU (Neural Processing Unit) integration.
UDNA Architecture: The Next Step #
Another key part of AMD’s Serbian initiative is the development of the UDNA (Unified Data and Neural Architecture).
- UDNA aims to merge the strengths of RDNA (gaming GPUs) and CDNA (compute accelerators) into a single unified GPU architecture.
- This convergence is designed to directly challenge NVIDIA’s CUDA dominance, providing a flexible architecture optimized for both gaming and AI acceleration.
- Zdravkovic confirmed that parts of UDNA’s R&D will be based in Serbia, leveraging the region’s strong engineering talent pool.
Strategic Shift Toward AI Software #
AMD’s Serbian expansion underscores a strategic pivot:
- From a hardware-first company to a holistic computing solutions provider
- Building a full-stack ROCm ecosystem across desktop, data center, cloud, and edge devices
- Positioning AMD as a key player in AI software and high-performance computing
By opening up ROCm to mainstream Radeon products and advancing UDNA development, AMD is preparing to compete head-on with NVIDIA not just in hardware, but also in the software ecosystems that power AI and HPC workloads.
Conclusion #
AMD’s new software centers in Serbia highlight its growing ambition in the AI and HPC markets. With expanded ROCm support, UDNA development, and an emphasis on open-source software, AMD is investing in a future where AI PCs and AI data centers alike can harness its full technology stack.
This marks a significant shift: AMD is no longer just a chipmaker, but an ecosystem builder determined to bridge the gap between hardware performance and software accessibility.