Making Tech Headlines · Page 6
Google Gives Each AI Chip a More Impressive Job Title
· New York time
Google has unveiled two specialized AI chips planned for next year as it expands its tensor processing unit lineup. The TPU 8tx is designed to encrypt sensitive data at the chip level for confidential computing. The TPU 8i Max combines two TPU chips for more processing power and memory, including for long-context workloads. The announcement broadens Google's challenge to Nvidia in a market where demand for AI computing capacity is high. Google says every TPU it currently has is committed to customers. The new designs address different needs rather than presenting one chip as the answer to every workload. The 8tx emphasizes protection for sensitive data, including work by public-sector bodies and businesses in heavily regulated areas. The 8i Max emphasizes capacity, combining chips to supply more processing power and memory. Both reflect the fact that AI services depend on hardware choices as well as the software visible to users. The popular image of an AI chip is a rectangle that makes a chatbot faster. The actual product lineup increasingly resembles a department with separate roles for privacy and heavy workloads. Google is giving its chips specialized résumés, and the next performance review may need a processor of its own.
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