AMD’s CEO, Lisa Su, has intervened to address the concerns raised by George Hotz’s AI server startup, Tiny Corp. The startup, known for its tinygrad neural network framework, has been encountering issues with its new TinyBox servers powered by Radeon RX 7900 XTX GPUs. In response to Tiny Corp’s requests for AMD to open source its GPU firmware due to bugs in the AI acceleration toolkit, Lisa Su personally reassured the startup that the AMD team is actively working to resolve the issues. However, she did not explicitly commit to open sourcing the firmware at this time.
Tiny Corp’s TinyBox servers aim to deliver PetaFLOPS-class AI performance using cost-effective consumer-grade GPUs, offering significant cost savings compared to traditional data center setups. These systems utilize Radeon RX 7900 XTX GPUs and AMD’s ROCm (Radeon Open Compute) programming stack, which has recently expanded to support AMD’s consumer GPUs. Despite receiving updated firmware from AMD and acknowledging the company’s efforts to address the issues, Tiny Corp expressed ongoing dissatisfaction with unresolved driver issues, prompting repeated calls for open-source firmware.
The frustration peaked when Tiny Corp publicly criticized the Radeon RX 7900 XTX driver’s performance, emphasizing the need for AMD to rectify the situation promptly. Facing mounting pressure, the startup even contemplated switching to Intel GPUs and software, mentioning Acer BiFrost Arc A770 cards and Nvidia GeForce GPUs as potential alternatives. However, concerns about Nvidia’s consumer card compatibility issues dampened the enthusiasm for this transition.
In response to Tiny Corp’s escalating concerns, Lisa Su reiterated AMD’s commitment to collaboration and problem-solving, indicating that the team is dedicated to finding a satisfactory solution. The startup’s intention to discuss the possibility of open sourcing part of AMD’s firmware during a forthcoming call underscores the ongoing dialogue between the two companies.
