Google Launches TPU 8tx and 8i Max, Ramping Up Challenge to Nvidia

TechFlow, November 9 — Google on Monday launched two new Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) variants, intensifying its competition with Nvidia in the AI chip market. The TPU 8tx, aimed at government agencies and regulated industries, focuses on security and confidential computing, and runs in conjunction with AMD chips as part of a collaboration between the two companies; the TPU 8i Max is designed for AI applications with long context windows, packaging two TPU chips together to increase compute and memory capacity. Google's head of chip business, Amin Vahdat, said the two new products are expected to launch next year. Google has historically released a new AI processor about every two years, but this year it launched two at once; including this launch, its TPU product lineup has expanded to four, each optimized for different needs. He said this is consistent with Google's long-standing view that the future belongs to specialization, and the advantages of specialization remain highly significant. Industry research estimates that by 2028, sales of Google TPU-related chips, software, and hardware will exceed $135 billion, far above the roughly $12 billion expected this year. Following the announcement, Google rose more than 2% in premarket trading at one point, while Nvidia fell nearly 6% in premarket trading.

Source: TechFlow