Google's AI chip 'Ironwood' takes on Nvidia

Core Insights - Google has announced the rollout of its most powerful in-house AI chip, named Ironwood, which is aimed at enhancing its cloud strategy and competing with NVIDIA [2][3] - The cloud industry is increasingly becoming a battleground for chip technology, with companies like Amazon and Microsoft also developing their own chips [3] - Google has secured significant cloud contracts with major players such as OpenAI, Meta, and Anthropic, attributed to the performance advantages of its Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) [3][4] - Google Cloud revenue has increased by 34% year-over-year in Q3, with a planned capital expenditure of $93 billion for the year, indicating a strong commitment to AI and chip development [6] Company Developments - The Ironwood chip was initially introduced for internal testing in April and is now moving to broad availability, marking a significant step in Google's custom silicon strategy [2] - Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted that TPUs have been a major driver of cloud growth, with demand continuing to accelerate [4] - The TPUs are integral to Google's Gemini AI model, which has gained traction and is now powering various applications, including a partnership with Apple for Siri's AI upgrade [4][5] Competitive Landscape - The competition in the cloud and AI chip market is intensifying, with companies like Amazon and Microsoft also developing proprietary chips [3] - AMD is also attempting to compete with NVIDIA, with expectations of revenue growth from the reopening of the China market [9] - NVIDIA's leadership in the AI race is being challenged, with conflicting statements about the competitive landscape between the US and China [9][10]