AMD and Aligned Partner with USC ISI to Accelerate Next-Generation AI with MEGALODON Language Model

Aligned, AMD, and USC ISI have joined forces to develop the MEGALODON large language model, utilizing AMD's Instinct MI300 GPUs and Aligned's AI infrastructure expertise. The collaboration aims to push performance boundaries beyond traditional CUDA-based environments and showcase the potential of AMD's ROCm open software ecosystem. MEGALODON features a novel Moving Average Equipped Gated Attention architecture, designed to enhance long-context retention while reducing computational complexity.

CANTON, Ohio, July 02, 2025 — Aligned, a leading innovator in AI infrastructure and scalable machine learning solutions, has joined forces with AMD and the University of Southern California's Information Sciences Institute (USC ISI) to accelerate the development and training of MEGALODON, a cutting-edge large language model (LLM). The collaboration centers on harnessing the powerful AMD Instinct™ MI300 GPUs and Aligned's expertise in AI operations to train the model efficiently on non-NVIDIA architectures [1].

MEGALODON is USC ISI's flagship effort in large-scale language modeling, exploring a novel Moving Average Equipped Gated Attention (MEGA) architecture designed to enhance long-context retention while reducing computational complexity. With model training requiring massive GPU resources and complex system orchestration, the collaboration between AMD and Aligned aims to push performance boundaries beyond traditional CUDA-based environments.

The project also intersects with ISI's broader ecosystem of public and private partnerships—including DARPA, NSF, Lockheed Martin, and Chevron—demonstrating the real-world impact of foundational AI research. MEGALODON is being developed and tested using high-performance compute clusters and advanced storage technologies, with future plans to scale with more advanced AMD GPUs such as the MI355x [1].

Aligned will play a critical role in optimizing MEGALODON's training on AMD's Instinct™ MI325X GPUs, leveraging AMD's ROCm™ platform as a CUDA alternative. Aligned is providing the tools and engineering support to help enable USC ISI's researchers to tap into the latest AMD GPU compute infrastructure.

AMD's re-entry into the Chinese market with high-performance AI GPUs by year-end is a strategic move that positions the company to compete directly with Nvidia Corp. in the AI hardware market. The AI accelerators market is projected to surpass $500 billion in value within a few years, driven by investments from industry leaders such as OpenAI and xAI [2].

The collaboration between Aligned, AMD, and USC ISI highlights the potential of AMD's ROCm open software ecosystem and underscores the importance of cross-platform AI enablement. As researchers push the limits of model size and capability, MEGALODON represents a leap forward in architecture and scalability, setting a new benchmark for large-scale AI training [1].

References:
[1] https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aligned-joins-forces-with-amd-and-usc-isi-to-power-next-generation-ai-with-megalodon-language-model-302513280.html
[2] https://www.ainvest.com/news/amd-ships-gen-ai-gpus-year-entering-china-5-20-cost-premium-2507/