Cloud providers have been gradually moving away from Intel and AMD processors, with Google now joining the trend by planning to install its custom-designed server processors by 2025.
Earlier this year, Google developed Tensor processors for its Pixel 6 phones, and now the tech giant is looking to power its cloud platform with its hardware.
According from The Information report, Google is working on two server chips, one designed in-house by Google Israel and having the code name Cypress. The other chip is based on a design from Marvell Technology and has the code name, Maple.
Google has planned Cypress to be its primary processor, with the Maple chip used as a Plan B. Both chips will be based on ARM’s 5nm technology. If Google does move ahead with its plans, Intel and AMD could suffer a loss of cloud business.
Google has already been heading into the server market, having recently acquired stakes in several companies such as SiFive, Tenstorrent, Graphcore, and Habana Labs, all involved in developing AI hardware.
Google’s move follows that of Amazon, which has also been developing custom hardware for its cloud business. Amazon recently unveiled its Graviton2 chips based on the ARM architecture. These chips are expected to help Amazon reduce its reliance on Intel’s Xeons processors.
Google’s new processor chips could give the tech giant a significant cost advantage over its competitors, allowing for cost savings in its cloud business. Google’s new processor chips are also expected to offer improved performance over Intel’s Xeons.
Overall, this move from Google could be a major threat to Intel and AMD, which have been the main providers of server processors for the past few years. It remains to be seen if Intel and AMD can compete with Google’s custom-designed chips or if cloud providers will quickly transition to Google’s hardware.