Google's Axion revolutionizes cloud computing with advanced arm-based CPU

Google has made a significant leap in cloud computing with the unveiling of Axion, its first custom Arm-based CPU designed for data centers.

This breakthrough aligns with Google's ambition of pushing computing boundaries in areas like generative AI and global video distribution.

"We are thrilled to announce the latest incarnation of this work: Google Axion Processors, our first custom Arm-based CPUs designed for the data center," Amin Vahdat from Google stated.

Axion represents the culmination of Google's extensive experience in custom silicon development, including five generations of Tensor Processing Units and the 2018 Video Coding Unit.

Vahdat noted that despite these advancements, general-purpose computing remains critical, necessitating significant investments to keep pace with accelerating demands.

Axion is built on the Arm Neoverse V2 CPU and has industry-leading performance and energy efficiency, ensuring exceptional performance for a wide range of workloads.

Google's approach combines its silicon expertise with Arm's highest-performing CPU cores, delivering instances that outperform the fastest general-purpose Arm-based instances in the cloud today by up to 30% and current-generation x86-based instances by up to 50% in performance and 60% in energy efficiency.

Rene Haas, Arm's CEO, praised this achievement, stating: "Decades of ecosystem investment, combined with Google's ongoing innovation and open-source software contributions, ensure the best experience for the workloads that matter most to customers running on Arm everywhere."

Axion's impact extends beyond performance. Google is committed to sustainability, with its data centers already surpassing the industry average in efficiency by 1.5 times.

Axion's energy-efficient design supports Google's goals for operating on carbon-free energy across all facilities.

The Axion CPU has already found application in services like Google Earth Engine and YouTube Ads, demonstrating its versatility and readiness for diverse workloads. This innovation places Google at the forefront of the cloud computing race, previously dominated by rivals like Amazon and Microsoft with their custom Arm-based CPUs.

Source: Newsroom