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Home/Current Affairs/AI Basics: Processing Unit

AI Basics: Processing Unit

16 Apr 2025

AI Basics: Processing Unit

Recently, Google released a new computer chip, called Ironwood. 

About Ironwood

  • Ironwood is  Google’s seventh-generation TPU, or tensor processing unit, which has been designed to run artificial intelligence (AI) models.

What Are Processing Units?

  • Processing units are the core hardware components that perform computing tasks.
  • They act like the brain of a computer, handling operations such as calculations, image processing, and command execution.
  • For Example:
    • GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), TPU (Tensor Processing Unit), Central Processing Unit.

CPU vs GPU vs TPU

Feature CPU GPU TPU
Purpose General-purpose processing Parallel processing for graphics & AI TPUs are custom-built processors developed by Google for AI and machine learning.
Core Count 2–16 cores Thousands of smaller cores Fewer, highly optimized cores
Processing Style Sequential Parallel Parallel, tensor-optimized
Use Case Operating systems, general tasks Gaming, video editing, AI workloads Deep learning, neural network training
Speed (AI Tasks) Slowest Faster Fastest (high throughput AI performance)
Flexibility Highly flexible Moderate flexibility Highly specialized

Conclusion

While CPUs remain essential for general computing, GPUs offer strong performance for parallel tasks, and TPUs take specialization further by accelerating AI and machine learning tasks with unmatched efficiency.

Also Read
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