Google Announces Axion ARM-Based CPUs For The Cloud

Similar to Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure spinning their own Arm-based processors for their data centers, Google Cloud today announced the Google Axion Processors that will be available in the future.

Google Axion Processors are the company's first Arm-based CPUs designed for the data center. Axion processors will be available to Google Cloud customers later in 2024.

Up to this point for Arm in Google Cloud they have relied on Ampere Altra processors, but now moving ahead Google is following the trend set by other hyperscalers in rolling out their own Arm server processors. Google already has the in-house silicon talent from their work on various smartphone SoCs, VCUs, and more. The initial Axion processors are built atop an Arm Neoverse V2 design.

Axion processors will be available in preview form for Google Cloud customers in the coming months. It's interesting but sadly today's announcement is light on benchmarks or firm technical details. Those wishing to read today's Google Axion Processors announcement can do so via the Google Cloud blog. Once the Axion VM instances become available on Google Cloud, I'll certainly be running some Axion benchmarks.

With Google joining the in-house Arm CPU game, this does put more pressure now on Ampere Computing. Presumably Google will be relying on Axion for all of their future Arm instance types. This would leave Oracle Cloud as the last major cloud provider using Ampere processors. Oracle did announced AmpereOne VMs would come at the end of last year albeit we are still waiting to see AmpereOne availability in Oracle Cloud and/or having any hardware access to AmpereOne servers.