TPU
A specialised Google chip designed to run AI workloads efficiently.
A TPU, or Tensor Processing Unit, is a type of computer chip designed by Google specifically for the kind of heavy mathematics that AI models require. Like the more familiar GPU, it is a specialised processor built to train and run neural networks far more efficiently than an ordinary computer chip.
TPUs matter because access to specialised chips is one of the main bottlenecks in AI. Building and running frontier models demands enormous compute, and the chips to provide it are scarce and expensive. That is why labs sign deals to reserve capacity years in advance — Anthropic, for instance, lined up a huge pipeline of TPUs through partners including Google and Broadcom.
In short, TPUs are part of the physical foundation beneath the AI boom: the hardware that makes today’s models possible.