Google Cloud’s latest reveal, the Ironwood TPU, represents a leap forward in custom AI silicon. With a 4× performance increase over its predecessor, Ironwood packs 9,216 chips into a single pod, linked by a 9.6 Tbps inter‑chip network and backed by 1.77 PB of high‑bandwidth memory. The design emphasizes reliability through optical circuit switching, achieving 99.999 % uptime across its fleet and enabling near‑real‑time inference for high‑volume applications such as chatbots and code assistants.
Beyond the hardware, Google is expanding its Arm‑based Axion processors—N4A and C4A—to support the broader AI stack, from microservices to data analytics. Early adopters report significant cost and performance gains, with Vimeo noting 30 % speed improvements and ZoomInfo reporting 60 % better price‑performance on Java pipelines. Coupled with software tools like the Inference Gateway and MaxText framework, the platform promises to lower latency by up to 96 % and cut serving costs, reinforcing the shift from training to inference.
Anthropic’s agreement to access one million Ironwood chips—worth tens of billions—validates Google’s custom‑silicon strategy. The deal underscores a new industry inflection point: cloud providers are betting on vertically integrated hardware and software to stay competitive against Nvidia’s GPU dominance. It also highlights the escalating capital required to power next‑generation AI workloads, as Google plans megawatt‑scale power and liquid‑cooling solutions to support the growing density of its data centers.
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