Google Ships TPU 8tx and TPU 8i Max Chips

Google has launched two new chips for its Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) family of AI accelerators. These chips, called TPU 8tx and TPU 8i Max, offer features such as encryption of both data and models during runtime for TPU 8tx, and double the compute and memory density of existing TPUs for TPU 8i Max. With these latest additions, Google has introduced four new TPUs this year and has almost 100 external users of its TPUs.

Google has historically used TPUs internally but with four new TPUs this year and almost 100 external users, it appears that Google is trying to position itself as a viable alternative to Nvidia, the current leader in AI silicon. An AI-specific chip designed for encrypting data in use could be particularly useful for financial institutions, healthcare providers and other organizations restricted by regulation from processing certain types of data publicly. This also increases competition in the AI chip market, giving consumers more options than just Nvidia and better pricing.