Latest news with #TomahawkUltra


Indian Express
7 hours ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Broadcom launches new Tomahawk Ultra networking chip in AI battle against Nvidia
Broadcom's chip unit unveiled on Tuesday a new networking processor that aims to speed artificial intelligence data crunching, which requires stringing together hundreds of chips that work together. The new chip is the latest piece of hardware that Broadcom has brought to bear against rival AI giant Nvidia. Broadcom helps Alphabet's Google produce its AI chips, which are perceived by developers and industry experts as one of the few viable alternatives to Nvidia's powerful graphics processors (GPUs). Dubbed the Tomahawk Ultra, Broadcom's chip acts as a traffic controller for data whizzing between dozens or hundreds of chips that sit relatively closely together inside a data center, such as inside a single server rack. The chip aims to compete with Nvidia's NVLink Switch chip which has a similar purpose, but the Tomahawk Ultra can tie together four times the number of chips, Ram Velaga, a Broadcom senior vice president, told Reuters in an interview. And instead of a proprietary protocol to move the data, it uses a boosted-for-speed version of ethernet. Both companies' chips help data center builders and others tie as many chips as possible together within a few feet of each other, a technique the industry calls 'scale-up' computing. By ensuring close-by chips can communicate with each other quickly, software developers can summon the computing horsepower necessary for AI. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing will manufacture the Ultra line of processors with its five nano-meter process, Velaga said. The processor is now shipping. It took Broadcom's teams of engineers roughly three years to develop the design, which was originally built for a segment of the market known as high-performance computing. But as generative AI boomed, Broadcom adapted the chip for use by AI companies because it is suited to scaling up.


Business Insider
8 hours ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Broadcom (AVGO) Takes on Nvidia with Its New Tomahawk Ultra Chip
Semiconductor firm Broadcom (AVGO) just launched a new networking chip called the Tomahawk Ultra, which is designed to help artificial intelligence systems transfer data faster between hundreds of connected chips. This release is one of Broadcom's attempts to take on the current market leader, Nvidia (NVDA). Indeed, Broadcom already works with Alphabet's Google (GOOGL) to build its AI chips, which are considered a strong alternative to Nvidia's GPUs. However, the Tomahawk Ultra is specifically built to compete with Nvidia's NVLink Switch chip, which has a similar use case. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week. Both Broadcom and Nvidia are focused on 'scale-up' computing. This is a strategy where many chips are placed close together in order to work as one powerful system. Interestingly, though, Broadcom says that its chip has some major advantages. According to Ram Velaga, a senior VP at Broadcom, the Tomahawk Ultra can connect four times more chips than Nvidia's version. It also uses an improved version of Ethernet instead of a proprietary data transfer method, which could make it more flexible and easier to integrate into existing systems. This is important because it can save companies time and money, thereby potentially making it a more appealing choice. What is interesting about Broadcom's new chip is that it took the firm's engineers about three years to design and was originally intended for high-performance computing. However, the company shifted its focus once it saw that the generative AI market was growing very fast. It is also worth noting that Broadcom's new chip is being produced by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM) using a 5-nanometer process, and is already being shipped. Is AVGO Stock a Good Buy? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on AVGO stock based on 28 Buys, two Holds, and zero Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average AVGO price target of $299.23 per share implies 6.2% upside potential.

Mint
20 hours ago
- Business
- Mint
Broadcom challenges Nvidia's AI dominance with ultra-connected Tomahawk networking chip launch
Broadcom has launched its latest networking processor, the Tomahawk Ultra, aimed at enhancing artificial intelligence (AI) workloads by improving chip-to-chip communication inside data centres. The launch marks a strategic move by the semiconductor firm to deepen its challenge to Nvidia's dominance in AI infrastructure. The Tomahawk Ultra is designed to act as a high-speed traffic controller, managing the vast streams of data exchanged between hundreds of interconnected processors. This function is critical in data centres where "scale-up" computing, linking numerous chips in close proximity, is vital to harnessing the computational power required for advanced AI tasks. Broadcom's new chip goes head-to-head with Nvidia's NVLink Switch, a key component in the GPU-maker's data centre offerings. However, according to Ram Velaga, Broadcom's Senior Vice President and General Manager for Core Switching, the Tomahawk Ultra offers a notable advantage: it can connect four times as many chips as Nvidia's counterpart. Additionally, instead of relying on a proprietary protocol, Broadcom has enhanced standard Ethernet to meet the high-speed demands of AI networking, an approach that could offer broader industry compatibility. The chip will be manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) using its 5-nanometre process technology. Shipments of the Tomahawk Ultra have already commenced, signalling Broadcom's readiness to provide a scalable alternative for companies building large-scale AI infrastructure. Originally designed for high-performance computing (HPC) applications, the processor was repurposed to meet the growing demands of AI developers amidst the rapid rise of generative AI. 'As the AI landscape evolved, we realised the architecture we had built lent itself well to scaling the kind of computing modern AI requires,' Velaga told Reuters. Broadcom already plays a key role in AI chip development through its partnership with Alphabet's Google, which uses Broadcom's technology to manufacture its in-house AI accelerators, considered among the few realistic alternatives to Nvidia's powerful GPUs.


Time of India
21 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Broadcom launches new Tomahawk Ultra networking chip in AI battle against Nvidia
Broadcom 's chip unit unveiled on Tuesday a new networking processor that aims to speed artificial intelligence data crunching, which requires stringing together hundreds of chips that work together. The new chip is the latest piece of hardware that Broadcom has brought to bear against rival AI giant Nvidia . Broadcom helps Alphabet 's Google produce its AI chips , which are perceived by developers and industry experts as one of the few viable alternatives to Nvidia's powerful graphics processors (GPUs). Dubbed the Tomahawk Ultra , Broadcom's chip acts as a traffic controller for data whizzing between dozens or hundreds of chips that sit relatively closely together inside a data center, such as inside a single server rack. The chip aims to compete with Nvidia's NVLink Switch chip which has a similar purpose, but the Tomahawk Ultra can tie together four times the number of chips, Ram Velaga, a Broadcom senior vice president, told Reuters in an interview. And instead of a proprietary protocol to move the data, it uses a boosted-for-speed version of ethernet . Both companies' chips help data center builders and others tie as many chips as possible together within a few feet of each other, a technique the industry calls "scale-up" computing. By ensuring close-by chips can communicate with each other quickly, software developers can summon the computing horsepower necessary for AI. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing will manufacture the Ultra line of processors with its five nano-meter process, Velaga said. The processor is now shipping. It took Broadcom's teams of engineers roughly three years to develop the design, which was originally built for a segment of the market known as high-performance computing. But as generative AI boomed, Broadcom adapted the chip for use by AI companies because it is suited to scaling up.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Broadcom launches new Tomahawk Ultra networking chip in AI battle against Nvidia
By Max A. Cherney SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Broadcom's (AVGO) chip unit unveiled on Tuesday a new networking processor that aims to speed artificial intelligence data crunching, which requires stringing together hundreds of chips that work together. The new chip is the latest piece of hardware that Broadcom has brought to bear against rival AI giant Nvidia (NVDA). Broadcom helps Alphabet's Google (GOOG) produce its AI chips, which are perceived by developers and industry experts as one of the few viable alternatives to Nvidia's powerful graphics processors (GPUs). Dubbed the Tomahawk Ultra, Broadcom's chip acts as a traffic controller for data whizzing between dozens or hundreds of chips that sit relatively closely together inside a data center, such as inside a single server rack. The chip aims to compete with Nvidia's NVLink Switch chip which has a similar purpose, but the Tomahawk Ultra can tie together four times the number of chips, Ram Velaga, a Broadcom senior vice president, told Reuters in an interview. And instead of a proprietary protocol to move the data, it uses a boosted-for-speed version of ethernet. Both companies' chips help data center builders and others tie as many chips as possible together within a few feet of each other, a technique the industry calls "scale-up" computing. By ensuring close-by chips can communicate with each other quickly, software developers can summon the computing horsepower necessary for AI. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing will manufacture the Ultra line of processors with its five nano-meter process, Velaga said. The processor is now shipping. It took Broadcom's teams of engineers roughly three years to develop the design, which was originally built for a segment of the market known as high-performance computing. But as generative AI boomed, Broadcom adapted the chip for use by AI companies because it is suited to scaling up. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data