Brno, Czech Republic / Copenhagen, Denmark – September 2, 2025 – DYNANIC, a leader in FPGA-based SmartNIC solutions, and Silicom Ltd. (NASDAQ: SILC), a global provider of high-performance networking and data infrastructure solutions, today unveiled their joint demo “400G FPGA-based NIC for scalable AI Networking.”
The demo highlights how Silicom’s new ThunderFjord card featuring 2×400GE ports and Altera’s Agilex™ 7 M-series FPGA, combined with the latest DYNANIC FPGA pipeline, can turn raw link speed into predictable, reliable AI performance for large-scale training.
Demo: Predictable AI networking – turning raw bandwidth into reliable AI performance
The live demonstration illustrates how the joint solution can:
- Manage synchronized traffic bursts without loss of reliability
- Shape and optimize data streams in real time
- React in microseconds with on-NIC hardware control loops
- Seamlessly scale from 400G to 800G throughput when needed
The setup emulates AI training workloads with alternating compute and synchronization phases, reproducing all-reduce bursts typical in large-scale AI clusters. Without NIC intelligence, congestion leads to packet loss, retransmissions, and degraded collective latency. With the joint DYNANIC–Silicom solution, NIC-level congestion control and precise pacing keep queues short, reduce loss to near zero, and stabilize latency. Flowlet-aware steering then splits bursts across dual 400G ports, enabling reliable in-order delivery and 800G effective bandwidth.
Key technical highlights
- 400G per port line-rate processing with seamless 400G→800G scale-up
- Flowlet-aware load balancing: in-order multipath steering across dual ports
- NIC-level congestion control with microsecond pacing using ECN/DCQCN feedback
- RDMA-aware handling to minimize retransmissions and stabilize collective operations
Relevance to AI networking
As AI adoption accelerates, networks must not only increase raw speed but also deliver predictability under synchronized, burst-heavy workloads. FPGA-based NICs combine line-rate throughput with real-time adaptive control, ensuring bursts remain orderly, latency is contained, and payload efficiency is maximized. The joint DYNANIC–Silicom solution addresses the scalability, reliability, and performance requirements of next-generation AI data centers.
Recognition at Altera Innovators Day 2025
This demonstration was selected for presentation at Altera Innovators Day 2025 – an invitation-only event where presenting companies are chosen through a rigorous evaluation process based on innovation and market impact. Being selected highlights the unique value and disruptive potential of the DYNANIC–Silicom approach to AI networking.
Executive quotes
Networking is undergoing unprecedented and rapid evolution. To keep pace, infrastructures require adaptive technologies that can respond in real time to shifting demands. That is why FPGA technology has a clear place in the AI era. Our collaboration with Silicom brings this adaptability to AI networking, demonstrating how FPGA-based SmartNICs can transform performance and reliability for still evolving large-scale AI deployments,
said Pavol Korček, CEO of DYNANIC.
This collaboration with DYNANIC marks an important step in bringing AI-ready networking to market. By combining Silicom’s cutting-edge ThunderFjord platform with the agility of the DYNANIC FPGA pipeline, we are delivering a new class of SmartNIC solutions designed specifically for AI workloads,
said Henrik Lilja, President of Silicom Denmark
By bringing together Altera’s Agilex™ M-Series FPGA, Silicom’s ThunderFjord platform, and DYNANIC’s packet-processing pipeline, we see a powerful example of how FPGA acceleration can reshape networking. This is precisely the kind of breakthrough the market is hungry for – solutions that unlock scalability and efficiency to keep pace with the exponential growth of AI networking,
said Mark Moran, Director of Boards, Dev Kits and Partner Ecosystem, Altera.
Links
🔗 DYNANIC – Stateful Flow Processing Release
🔗 Silicom ThunderFjord FPGA-acceleration card
Media contacts
Tomáš Fiala, Marketing specialist, DYNANIC, fiala@dyna-nic.com
Oxana Straista, VP Operations and Marketing, Silicom, os@silicom.dk
