New to this? Read it in simple words
- Google announced two new TPU systems, TPU 8tx and TPU 8i Max, on November 9.
- TPU 8tx keeps data protected even while the chip works on it.
- TPU 8i Max puts two chips in one package for very long inputs.
- Google has given no date or price.
- TPU
- A chip that Google designs to run AI work.
- Confidential computing
- Keeping data protected even while a computer is working on it.
- Memory bandwidth
- How fast a chip can move data in and out of its memory.
TPUs are the chips Google designs to run AI. It first built them for its own work, such as training its Gemini models. Now it also offers them to other companies through Google Cloud.
Two systems, no new chip
A system is how chips are packaged and linked with memory, networking and storage. Google says a new chip takes years to design, but a new system can come much faster. Both new systems reuse eighth-generation TPU chips.
“This is the first time we have introduced four TPU systems in a single year,” wrote Amin Vahdat, Google’s chief technologist for AI and infrastructure.
Figures from Google’s announcement. No outside test yet.
TPU 8tx: data stays locked
Data is usually encrypted when it is stored or sent. But it must be unlocked in memory while a computer works on it. TPU 8tx builds protection into the hardware, so data and model weights stay protected even while in use, Google says.
It uses the same silicon as TPU 8t, with 5th Generation AMD EPYC processors as host computers. Google built it for regulated companies and governments.
Teams can also fine-tune models on their private data in the same system, Google says. Nvidia already offers a similar protection for its own chips, The Decoder notes.
TPU 8i Max: past the memory wall
When many agents work on a whole codebase or hours of video, the speed of memory becomes the limit. Google calls this “the memory wall”.
So Google put two TPU 8i chips in one package. Google says this doubles the computing power, the fast on-chip memory and the memory bandwidth of TPU 8i. It fits in the same rack space.
What is still unknown
Google did not give dates or prices for the two systems, TechTarget reports. It also published no outside test results.
The speed and memory figures are Google’s own comparisons with its earlier chips. No absolute numbers for TPU 8i Max are on Google’s page.
Sources
Every fact in this story comes from the sources below. Open them to check our work.
- 1
- 2Research · November 9, 2026Google ships four TPU variants in one year as it ramps up competition with Nvidia The Decoder
- 3
- 4Research · November 9, 2026Google advances agentic AI custom silicon expanding TPU family with 8tx and 8i Max SiliconANGLE
The security and speed claims are Google’s own, and no outside test exists yet. Google has not said when the systems will be available.
Google adds two new TPU systems, one with AMD processors. Silicon AI News, November 9, 2026. https://siliconainews.com/stories/google-tpu-8tx-8i-max
Google adds two new TPU systems for private data and long inputs, but gives no date, price or outside test. How we rate the mood
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