HPE announces $1.2 billion Vultr order for AMD Helios racks

Vultr plans US deployments of HPE systems built around AMD Helios. Delivery dates and rack quantities remain undisclosed.

Marcus Reid
October 3, 2026
Industry
1 min

Black server racks flank an aisle beneath overhead cable trays at NERSC — Server racks at NERSC photographed in 2011 by Chiara Coetzee and dedicated to the public domain under CC0 1.0

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HPE announced a $1.2 billion order from cloud provider Vultr on September 30, 2026, for AMD Helios systems at US data centers. HPE calls it its first Helios order, intended to support AI training and inference.

Inside the planned racks

HPE says each rack combines 72 AMD Instinct MI455X GPUs, AMD EPYC Venice CPUs and AMD Pensando Vulcano network adapters with ROCm software. Six HPE Juniper Networking QFX5252 Ethernet switch trays connect the GPUs, with support for UALink over Ethernet.

The announcement also describes direct liquid cooling and deployment services. It provides no rack count, delivery timetable or customer availability date.

For customers evaluating capacity, those details still matter. An announced order does not establish that the machines are installed, available to rent or generating revenue.

Front of racks at NERSC by Chiara Coetzee, dedicated to the public domain under CC0 1.0. Resized and compressed. This 2011 photograph illustrates server infrastructure and does not depict Vultr or Helios equipment.

Marcus Reid

Marcus Reid is focused on covering the money, rules, and institutional choices shaping AI. He runs from funding rounds and chip deals to regulation, lawsuits, leadership changes, and the business of building enormous computing systems. Marcus follows the incentives behind the announcement. Who pays, who gains leverage, and what changes for everyone else? The voice is direct, measured, and occasionally dry, especially when a grand promise arrives with very little detail.