The process of designing and manufacturing semiconductors becomes more demanding with each technological leap. As transistors shrink, their complexity grows exponentially.

This evolution results in a constant need for higher computational power to support production workflows. STMicroelectronics, Europe’s largest semiconductor company, faces an ongoing challenge to ensure its data centers keep up with the intensive requirements of its chip design processes. By adopting AMD EPYC™ processors, the company has met its goals for performance, cost-effectiveness, and energy efficiency, enabling faster chip design while maintaining its sustainability objectives.

Balancing Performance and Energy Efficiency in R&D

“We aim to cut our energy usage by 150 gigawatt-hours annually and achieve carbon neutrality by 2027,” says Olivier Joubert, DTIT Senior Infrastructure Architect at STMicroelectronics. “This is a significant challenge for a company that has been experiencing double-digit growth for several years, especially as we expand with new factories and data centers. Choosing the right data center server technology is, therefore, crucial for us.”

As a company that both designs and manufactures semiconductors, STMicroelectronics relies on data center computing in three main areas. Every factory is equipped with at least two data centers, while general IT infrastructure is managed through a combination of on-premises data centers and cloud services. However, the greatest demand comes from research and development data centers. “When we reduce our semiconductor transistor sizes by half, we quadruple the need for data storage and computational power,” explains Joubert.

The largest R&D data capacity for STMicroelectronics is based in France, with additional data centers in Italy and India. Enhancing the computational power of these R&D centers directly impacts the company’s ability to create more advanced chip designs. However, this enhancement poses additional challenges for the company’s environmental commitments. “Sustainability is ingrained in STMicroelectronics’ core values,” Joubert adds. “We have been in operation for 36 years, and we’ve been publishing sustainability reports for 25 of those years. Our goal is to minimize consumption wherever possible.”

Given these challenges, STMicroelectronics constantly evaluates new server technologies. “For us, the CPU is the most critical component in a server,” states Joubert. “We have been benchmarking every CPU on the market for the past decade. We always require the fastest processor with the highest core count. There was a period when there was no viable competition. However, when AMD launched the EPYC processor in 2017, we saw a new contender. When a CPU performs well in SPEC benchmarks, we shortlist it for further testing.” The arrival of the 2nd Gen AMD EPYC processor prompted STMicroelectronics to conduct benchmarks, and the performance results surpassed the company’s expectations.

Enhanced Performance, Affordability, and Energy Efficiency

“We were extremely impressed with the benchmark outcomes,” Joubert says. “However, we had to wait for the 3rd Gen AMD EPYC processor to ensure compatibility with our operating system and application stack.” STMicroelectronics had already been utilizing AMD EPYC processors through the Microsoft Azure Cloud, where they offload heavy R&D workloads as needed. “We collaborate closely with Microsoft to ensure they utilize the same CPUs that we deploy in our data centers.”

HPE provided servers and CPUs for testing within STMicroelectronics’ own data center environment. “For R&D, we run benchmarks focused on Electronic Design Automation (EDA) and Computer-Aided Design (CAD),” Joubert explains. “With 2nd Gen AMD EPYC processors, we observed a 6% performance improvement over any other CPU available. The 3rd Gen AMD EPYC processors increased that margin to 12%. We achieved 25% better value per core for single-socket CPUs and 30% for dual-socket ones. We also included power efficiency testing, and the 3rd Gen AMD EPYC reduced power consumption per core by 30%. This was the first time we met all three criteria—performance, price, and efficiency—so we proceeded to purchase a significant number of 3rd Gen AMD EPYC CPUs.”

Transitioning to 4th Gen AMD EPYC

STMicroelectronics began implementing AMD EPYC processors in its R&D data centers. “We prioritized R&D because it demands the most computational power,” Joubert says. “Enhanced performance results in faster time-to-market. We can now complete designs much more quickly and run more designs in parallel.”

This rapid design capability is particularly beneficial for industries with rapidly evolving semiconductor designs, such as automotive Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and communications networking. STMicroelectronics replaces its R&D data center servers on a 27-month cycle, continuously expanding its AMD EPYC fleet. By the end of May, it had deployed 550 single-socket HPE servers powered by 64-core 3rd Gen AMD EPYC CPUs, and the total has since surpassed 1,000 CPUs, with thousands more in use through Microsoft Azure.

The company has also succeeded in meeting its sustainability goals. While high-density server CPUs typically lead to increased energy consumption, the superior performance of AMD EPYC CPUs offsets this. The AMD EPYC CPUs and HPE servers are also designed to operate at higher temperatures, allowing data center air conditioning to be used less intensively. “We achieved a 33% reduction in electricity consumption using 3rd Gen AMD EPYC processors,” Joubert notes. Additionally, since STMicroelectronics licenses its software on a time basis, the enhanced performance of AMD EPYC processors enables more tasks to be completed within that timeframe, leading to cost savings.

STMicroelectronics is currently testing 4th Gen AMD EPYC processors, and the initial results are promising. “We can achieve at least a 25% performance increase compared to the previous generation with 4th Gen AMD EPYC CPUs,” Joubert says. “This is significantly better than any competitor on the market. From our experience, even with 3rd Gen AMD EPYC processors, competitors need 50% more power per core, and their CPUs cost 75% more for lower performance. The 4th Gen AMD EPYC will be even further ahead. There are four key aspects we appreciate about AMD EPYC processors: AMD’s ability to execute their roadmap on time, reliable supply delivery without semiconductor shortages, compatibility with our stack through ecosystem support, and alignment with preferred partners, ensuring that HPE and Microsoft Azure use the same technology.” Encouraged by these advantages, STMicroelectronics is now considering adding AMD GPUs to its data center infrastructure. “We are extremely satisfied to have a viable alternative to other CPUs on the market and a partner like AMD.”