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Google unveiled on Tuesday its latest innovations in data centre artificial intelligence (AI) technology, introducing an updated version of its Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) alongside a groundbreaking Arm-based central processing unit (CPU) dubbed Axion. This marks a notable expansion of Google’s hardware capabilities, positioning its TPUs as a formidable competitor to Nvidia’s AI chips, with the distinct caveat that Google’s offering is exclusive to its Cloud Platform, and not available for direct purchase.
What Is Axion CPU?
The newly announced Axion CPU, designed to be integrated with Google Cloud, is reported to outperform traditional x86 chips and other general-purpose Arm chips currently available in the cloud environment. Google emphasises the ease with which customers can transition their existing workloads to the Arm architecture, highlighting Axion’s compatibility and performance benefits. Mark Lohmeyer, Google Cloud’s vice president and general manager of compute and machine learning infrastructure, stressed the seamless transition for users moving to Axion, noting its foundation on open technology and the lack of necessity for app re-architecting or rewriting.
This move by Google into custom CPU manufacturing places it in direct competition with other cloud service providers like Amazon.com and Microsoft, who have previously ventured into Arm CPU development as a means to differentiate their services. Although Google has a history of developing custom chips for various applications, including YouTube, artificial intelligence, and its smartphone lineup, this is its inaugural venture into CPU production.
30 Per Cent Improvement On Arm Chips
The development of Google’s TPU v5p chips, reputed for their capability to run in large-scale configurations of up to 8,960 chips, demonstrates a significant leap in raw performance, reportedly doubling that of its predecessors. Google’s adoption of liquid cooling technology ensures these chips operate at peak efficiency. In terms of performance, the Axion chip is said to offer a 30 per cent improvement over standard Arm chips and a 50 per cent increase over the latest x86 chips produced by industry giants Intel and Advanced Micro Devices.
Google’s strategic plan includes deploying the Axion CPU to enhance its services, notably targeting improvements in the delivery of YouTube Ads through Google Cloud. The TPU v5p chips have been made generally available on Google’s cloud platform as of Tuesday, signalling a new era for Google’s cloud services and its commitment to advancing AI and computing technologies.
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