Google Escalates Nvidia Rivalry With Two New TPU AI Chips
Google is introducing two specialized versions of its tensor processing units, the TPU 8tx and 8i Max, as it challenges Nvidia in AI chips. Bloomberg Intelligence expects TPU sales to top $135 billion by 2028, up from an estimated $12 billion this year.
Google, the Alphabet Inc. unit, is introducing two new versions of its tensor processing units (TPUs), with an announcement due Monday, November 9, 2026, as Google escalates its Nvidia rivalry in the market for artificial intelligence chips. The market is worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
TPUs are custom-made semiconductors that help develop and run AI software. The new variants are called the TPU 8tx and the 8i Max.
Four chips, different jobs
Google's chip unit is speeding up. It once released a new AI processor every two years. This year it put out two at the same time, and the new variants add to that pair.
The four TPU offerings will each serve different needs, Google chip chief Amin Vahdat said in an interview. "The future is going to be about specialization," he said, describing the company's thesis.
The two new chips are not entirely new silicon designs. Vahdat said they are reconfigured to take on tasks customers have been requesting.
What each chip does
The 8tx targets secure, confidential work for customers such as government agencies and companies in regulated industries. It works with chips from Advanced Micro Devices Inc., as part of a collaboration between the two companies.
The 8i Max is built for AI applications that need long-context windows. That term describes the amount of data an AI system can consider in a single request. Vahdat said it matters for drug discovery and math, and for coding applications.
The variants will be available next year, he said.
A growing chip business
TPUs compete in a market dominated by Nvidia Corp.'s graphics processing units, or GPUs. Google began developing the technology more than a decade ago with Broadcom Inc., which helped with design and coordinating production. The aim was to handle the search giant's growing computing needs more efficiently.
Google has since begun selling TPUs outside its cloud-computing operation. Bloomberg Intelligence estimates TPU sales, including related software and hardware, will top $135 billion by 2028. That compares with an estimated $12 billion this year and excludes sales to clients using the chips through Google Cloud.
Apple Inc., Meta Platforms Inc. and Oracle Corp. are among the customers. Specialized versions should help Google make further progress, Vahdat said.
"We could build a single chip that tries to address the whole market, or by building specialized versions of the chips, we actually can deliver much more value," he said.
Uncertain backdrop
The launch comes at a turbulent time for the industry. Worries about a possible slowdown in infrastructure spending have rattled tech stocks. US midterm elections that swept Democrats into power have raised fresh doubts about data center projects.
Demand for Nvidia's AI processors still exceeds what the company can supply. That leaves room for Google and other contenders to build sizable businesses.
