Google Cloud Next 2024 has begun and the company is kicking off the event with some big announcements, including its new Axion processor. It is Google's first Arm-based CPU built specifically for data centers, which was designed with Arm's Neoverse V2 CPU.
According to Google, Axion performs 30 percent better than its fastest general-purpose Arm-based tools in the cloud and 50 percent better than the latest, comparable x86-based virtual machines. They also claim that it is 60 percent more energy efficient than those same x86-based virtual machines. Google is already using Axion in services like BigTable and Google Earth Engine, and will expand to more in the future.
The launch of Axion could put Google in competition with amazon, which has led the field in Arm-based CPUs for data centers. The company's cloud business, amazon Web Services (AWS), launched the Graviton processor in 2018, releasing the second and third iterations over the next two years. Chip developer NVIDIA launched its first Arm-based CPU for data centers in 2021, called Grace, and companies like Ampere have also made progress in the area.
Arm-based processors are typically a cheaper and more power-efficient option. Google's announcement came just after Arms CEO René Haas issued a warning about the energy use of ai models. according the Wall Street Journal. He called models like ChatGPT “insatiable” in their need for electricity. “The more information they collect, the smarter they are, but the more information they collect to become smarter, the more energy it takes,” Haas said. By the end of the decade, ai data centers could consume 20 to 25 percent. percent of US energy needs. Today, that's probably four percent or less. That's not very sustainable, to be honest with you.” He highlighted the need for greater efficiency to keep pace with advances.
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