Google adds TPU 8tx, TPU 8i Max to eighth-generation chip lineup

Google's latest TPU variants build on its eighth-generation chips introduced in April, which offered more inference capacity and support for large training requirements. The TPU 8tx, designed with AMD, is based on the TPU 8t chip and adds hardware-level security for confidential training and inference, plus a custom inferencing network that lets it run reasoning alongside training. That combination could prove useful for companies that want to train models on proprietary data without moving it between devices. The TPU 8i Max, meanwhile, essentially combines two inference-focused TPU 8i chips into a single package, doubling memory capacity, processing power and bandwidth so AI models can handle a larger range of information during queries. These launches come as hyperscalers like Microsoft, Amazon, and AI labs like OpenAI and Anthropic are working on their own AI-specific semiconductors and software to reduce their reliance on Nvidia's dominance. The news also arrives at a particularly vulnerable moment for Nvidia, whose CEO Jensen Huang over the weekend admitted to having an affair with someone alleged to be a Chinese spy.