AMD and Intel Celebrate First Anniversary of x86 Ecosystem Advisory Group Driving the Future of x86 Computing

AMD and Intel today marked the one-year anniversary of the x86 Ecosystem Advisory Group (EAG), a joint initiative launched in October 2024 to strengthen the future of x86 computing. The advisory group unites AMD, Intel, and key ecosystem partners in a shared commitment to advancing the x86 platform through collaborative decision-making, standardized features, and developer-friendly innovations.

With a mission to enhance compatibility, predictability, and consistency across x86 processor-based products – running in everything from supercomputers to handheld gaming devices – the EAG has made significant progress over the past year by aligning on architectural and technical priorities that foster a stronger and more unified ecosystem. 

Standardizing x86 features

Key technical milestones, include:

• FRED (Flexible Return and Event Delivery): Finalized as a standard feature, FRED introduces a modernized interrupt model designed to reduce latency and improve system software reliability.
• AVX10: Established as the next-generation vector and general-purpose instruction set extension, AVX10 boosts throughput while ensuring portability across client, workstation, and server CPUs.
• ChkTag: x86 Memory Tagging: To combat longstanding memory safety vulnerabilities such as buffer overflows and use-after-free errors, the EAG introduced ChkTag, a unified memory tagging specification. ChkTag adds hardware instructions to detect violations, helping secure applications1, operating systems, hypervisors, and firmware. With compiler and tooling support, developers gain fine-grained control without compromising performance. Notably, ChkTag-enabled software remains compatible with processors lacking hardware support, simplifying deployment and complementing existing security features like shadow stack and confidential computing. The full ChkTag specification is expected later this year – and for further feature details, please visit the ChkTag Blog.
• ACE (Advanced Matrix Extensions for Matrix Multiplication): Accepted and implemented across the stack, ACE standardizes matrix multiplication capabilities, enabling seamless developer experiences across devices ranging from laptops to data center servers.

Future direction

As the x86 EAG enters its second year, we want to thank the EAG membership for their strong engagement and efforts to support this initiative and drive continuous progress. Looking ahead, future areas of focus and priorities include adding new strategic ISV partners, evaluating new ISA extensions that provide customers with demonstrable advantages, and reinforcing the long-term stability and predictability of the x86 architecture.