AMD's Updated CPU Roadmap Confirms Zen 6 For 2026, Reveals First Zen 7 Details
Lest there be any doubt, AMD is already working on what comes next after Zen 6, which an updated CPU roadmap revealed at its Financial Analyst Day event remains on track to launch next year. The event is focused more on the business side of the equation, but there are still some high level details to be gleaned, including that Zen 7 is official.
We've known about Zen 6 for quite some time—at least since last year—while new details continue to trickle out. Earlier this week, for example, it was confirmed that Zen 6 will support AVX-512 instructions on client systems (no big surprise there), including support for the FP16 datatype as a "first class" citizen on x86-64 CPUs.
According to AMD, Zen 6 is poised to be the first major processor launch to leverage TSMC's 2-nanometer manufacturing technology. During the event, AMD's executive vice president and chief technology office, Mark Papermaster, said Zen 6 (and Zen 6c) will deliver a jump in IPC performance while improving power efficiency. The next-generation architecture also promises to bring more AI pipelines to the table.
Papermaster also praised AMD's willingness bet big on chiplets, as well as executing on several generations of Zen, which from the outside looking in is what put AMD back in the competitive landscape with rival Intel. A look at the best selling processors on Amazon shows that AMD dominates in the DIY scene, with Ryzen chips accounting for the top 11 spots, and 17 of the top 20 spots.
Currently five generations in, Zen will extend to a sixth generation next year, followed by Zen 7 sometime thereafter.
We no longer need to speculate that Zen 7 is in the cards because, for the first time, AMD made Zen 7 official. While the roadmap is still vague on exact timing, it does indicate Zen 7 will launch sometime after 2026. It also references a "future node," so we can assume it will be based on something even more advanced than 2nm.
The updated roadmap also points to a next-generation design with a new matrix engine and an expanded AI data format. What exactly that all translates to remains to be scene, but the exciting part is that Zen 7 is confirmed. And beyond just being a blip on the roadmap, Papermaster confirmed that a team is working on Zen 7.
You can check out AMD's Financial Analyst Day landing page for a plethora of presentation slides and a webcast of the event.
