AMD has plans to support a little-known chip for at least another sixteen years – and no, it’s neither a Ryzen nor a Threadripper or an Epyc CPU

By James On Mar 10, 2024

Spartan UltraScale+ is the latest addition to AMD’s extensive portfolio of cost-optimized Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and adaptive SoCs. It was introduced to replace the Xilinx Spartan 6 and Spartan 7 lines.

The new Spartan UltraScale+ devices are designed for a wide range of I/O-intensive applications at the edge. AMD says its latest FPGAs can deliver up to 30 percent lower overall power consumption compared to the previous generation – energy efficiency is a hot topic right now – while boasting the most robust set of security features in AMD’s cost-optimized portfolio.

“For more than 25 years, the Spartan FPGA family has helped realize some of humanity’s greatest achievements, from lifesaving automated defibrillators to the CERN particle accelerator that is pushing the boundaries of human knowledge,” said Kirk Saban , corporate vice president, Adaptive and Embedded Computing Group, AMD . “Building on proven 16nm technology, the Spartan UltraScale+ family’s enhanced security and features, common design tools and long product lifecycles further strengthen our market-leading FPGA portfolio and underscore our commitment to delivering cost-optimized products for customers.”

See you in the 2040s… and beyond!

The Spartan UltraScale+ FPGAs offer a number of advanced security features, including support for Post-Quantum Cryptography with NIST-approved algorithms to provide robust IP protection against evolving threats. They also include a physical, non-clonable feature, giving each device a unique fingerprint for added security.

The Spartan UltraScale+ FPGA family sampling and evaluation kits are expected to be available in the first half of 2025, with support for tools – starting with the AMD Vivado Design Suite – in the fourth quarter of 2024.

What about that super long life cycle that’s promised? AMD says Spartan UltraScale+ FPGA will be supported into the 2040s, and this is just the beginning standard life cycle. AMD will probably have one extended life cycle on top of that (as with previous FPGAs), meaning the chip’s support will last well into the future.

That may seem like serious generosity on behalf of AMD, but so be it Serve it house explains: “Spartan FPGAs are often found in products that take years to design and are then sold and used for decades into the future.”