Even after releasing its own AI chip... Google: "Nvidia and we are in love with each other"

Even after releasing its own AI chip... Google: "Nvidia and we are in love with each other"

"We love Nvidia, and Nvidia loves us."

Google emphasized that it maintains a strong relationship with Nvidia, even as it fully unveiled the 8th generation of its own artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor, the Tensor Processing Unit (TPU).

Marc Lohmeyer, VP of Google Cloud AI and Compute Infrastructure, gave this answer when asked about Google's relationship with Nvidia at a press conference for 'Google Cloud Next' held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, USA, on the 23rd (local time).

VP Lohmeyer emphasized, "Many of our customers use Nvidia's Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), and we are deeply collaborating with them."

He added, "The core of Google Cloud's strategy is customer choice and openness, so we are collaborating even more deeply with Nvidia. We plan to introduce Nvidia's new AI accelerator 'Vera Rubin' on Google Cloud by the end of this year."

He also mentioned that 'Thinking Machines Lab,' a startup founded by Mira Murati, former CTO of OpenAI, is using Nvidia GPUs through Google Cloud.

However, he added that Google, with its 8th-generation TPUs, is ahead of cloud competitors like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft (MS) 'Azure,' which still only have 1st to 3rd-generation custom chips.

Google primarily uses Nvidia's GPUs even in on-premise cloud environments that operate on customers' internal servers.

Muninder Sambi, VP of Product Management for Google Distributed Cloud (GDC), explained, "We are collaborating with Nvidia to provide the highest-performance GPUs in on-premise environments."

He further explained that GDC servers built on customer premises often cannot use TPUs due to difficulties in equipping them with water-cooling systems, and thus are primarily configured with GPUs.

It is understood that Google is mindful of its relationship with Nvidia, even while showcasing its own chip technology, due to the high customer demand for Nvidia GPUs.

Therefore, this is seen as a strategic move to gain leadership in the AI infrastructure market through a dual strategy that encompasses both TPUs and GPUs.

Nvidia also highlighted the partnership between the two companies in conjunction with Google Cloud's event.

On the first day of 'Google Cloud Next' on the 22nd, Nvidia stated through its official blog, "Nvidia and Google Cloud have collaborated for over 10 years," emphasizing, "We have jointly developed a comprehensive AI platform spanning all technology layers."

Even when Google officially launched its 7th-generation TPU, 'Ironwood,' in November last year, which became a hot topic, Nvidia took a somewhat cautious stance, stating on its official X (formerly Twitter) account, "We are delighted by Google's success," but also, "We are a generation ahead of the industry."