Google Cloud Launches New Axion Chip for Streaming

By Stephen Nellis
(Reuters) – Google Cloud, a unit of Alphabet Inc., announced on Wednesday that Spotify Technology and Paramount Global are utilizing its newly designed Axion chip to power their streaming services.

The Axion chip, a central processing unit (CPU), is now available to all customers on Google Cloud. It aims to compete with traditional CPUs from Intel and AMD for developers' budgets.

Google follows other major cloud firms like Amazon and Microsoft in providing Arm-based CPUs, highlighting a trend among cloud providers to develop and offer energy-efficient computing solutions.

These Arm-based chips require significantly less electricity compared to their Intel and AMD counterparts, making them attractive for various applications, including artificial intelligence. According to Google, the Axion chip is approximately 60% more energy-efficient than conventional CPUs.

Mark Lohmeyer, vice president and general manager of compute and AI infrastructure at Google Cloud, stated, "This is not the first Arm instance we've made available in the cloud, but this is the first Google-designed Arm processor and the first fully integrated into our infrastructure."

Having already used the chips internally for some paid services, Google Cloud is now making them accessible to all customers. Although Google will continue to offer chips from Ampere, it is shifting its focus toward its own Arm-based solutions as a primary offering moving forward.