ironwood tpu for 17 April 2025

Ironwood TPU Latest News

Google recently introduced Ironwood, their seventh-generation Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), marking a pivotal leap in AI technology. 

About Ironwood TPU

• It is Google’s seventh-generation Tensor Processing Unit (TPU).
  • TPUs are custom-built chipsets aimed at AI and machine learning (ML) workflows. 
  • These accelerators offer extremely high parallel processing, especially for deep learning-related tasks, as well as significantly high power efficiency.
• Designed specifically for inference — a process where AI models make predictions based on learned data — Ironwood is the most powerful, scalable, and energy-efficient TPU Google has ever developed.
• Ironwood signifies a shift from reactive AI models, which respond to queries, to proactive systems that generate insights independently. 
• This evolution defines what Google calls the “age of inference,” where AI agents autonomously retrieve and synthesise data to offer comprehensive answers, not just raw information.
• The Ironwood chip comes with a peak compute of 4,614 teraflops (TFLOP), which is a considerably higher throughput compared to its predecessor, Trillium.
• Google also plans to make these chipsets available as clusters to maximise the processing power for higher-end AI workflows.
• Ironwood can be scaled up to a cluster of 9,216 liquid-cooled chips linked with an Inter-Chip Interconnect (ICI) network. 
• At its most expansive cluster, Ironwood chipsets can generate up to 42.5 exaflops of computing power. 
• Google claimed that its throughput is more than 24X of the compute generated by the world's largest supercomputer, El Capitan, which offers 1.7 Exaflops per pod. 
• Ironwood TPUs also come with expanded memory, with each chipset offering 192GB, which is six times more than its predecessor, Trillium.

Source: TH