Google has officially joined the club of custom Arm-based, in-house-developed CPUs. As of today, Google's in-house semiconductor development team has launched the "Axion" CPU based on Arm instruction set architecture. Using the Arm Neoverse V2 cores, Google claims that the Axion CPU outperforms general-purpose Arm chips by 30% and Intel's processors by a staggering 50% in terms of performance. This custom silicon will fuel various Google Cloud offerings, including Compute Engine, Kubernetes Engine, Dataproc, Dataflow, and Cloud Batch. The Axion CPU, designed from the ground up, will initially support Google's AI-driven services like YouTube ads and Google Earth Engine. According to Mark Lohmeyer, Google Cloud's VP and GM of compute and machine learning infrastructure, Axion will soon be available to cloud customers, enabling them to leverage its performance without overhauling their existing applications.

Google's foray into custom silicon aligns with the strategies of its cloud rivals, Microsoft and Amazon. Microsoft recently unveiled its own AI chip for training large language models and an Arm-based CPU called Cobalt 100 for cloud and AI workloads. Amazon, on the other hand, has been offering Arm-based servers through its custom Graviton CPUs for several years. While Google won't sell these chips directly to customers, it plans to make them available through its cloud services, enabling businesses to rent and leverage their capabilities. As Amin Vahdat, the executive overseeing Google's in-house chip operations, stated, "Becoming a great hardware company is very different from becoming a great cloud company or a great organizer of the world's information."

At the Intel Vision 2024 customer and partner conference, Intel introduced the Intel Gaudi 3 accelerator to bring performance, openness and choice to enterprise generative AI (GenAI), and unveiled a suite of new open scalable systems, next-gen products and strategic collaborations to accelerate GenAI adoption. With only 10% of enterprises successfully moving GenAI projects into production last year, Intel's latest offerings address the challenges businesses face in scaling AI initiatives.

"Innovation is advancing at an unprecedented pace, all enabled by silicon - and every company is quickly becoming an AI company," said Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger. "Intel is bringing AI everywhere across the enterprise, from the PC to the data center to the edge. Our latest Gaudi, Xeon and Core Ultra platforms are delivering a cohesive set of flexible solutions tailored to meet the changing needs of our customers and partners and capitalize on the immense opportunities ahead."

Every country needs to own the production of their own intelligence, NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang told attendees Monday at the World Governments Summit in Dubai. Huang, who spoke as part of a fireside chat with the UAE's Minister of AI, His Excellency Omar Al Olama, described sovereign AI—which emphasizes a country's ownership over its data and the intelligence it produces—as an enormous opportunity for the world's leaders. "It codifies your culture, your society's intelligence, your common sense, your history - you own your own data," Huang told Al Olama during their conversation, a highlight of an event attended by more than 4,000 delegates from 150 countries.

"We completely subscribe to that vision," Al Olama said. "That's why the UAE is moving aggressively on creating large language models and mobilizing compute." Huang's appearance in the UAE comes as the Gulf State is moving rapidly to transform itself from an energy powerhouse into a global information technology hub. Dubai is the latest stop for Huang in a global tour that has included meetings with leaders in Canada, France, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam over the past six months. The Middle East is poised to reap significant benefits from AI, with PwC projecting a $320 billion boost to the region's economy by 2030.

Today, Dropbox, Inc. and NVIDIA announced a collaboration to supercharge knowledge work and improve productivity for millions of Dropbox customers through the power of AI. The companies' collaboration will expand Dropbox's extensive AI functionality with new uses for personalized generative AI to improve search accuracy, provide better organization, and simplify workflows for its customers across their cloud content.

Dropbox plans to leverage NVIDIA's AI foundry consisting of NVIDIA AI Foundation Models, NVIDIA AI Enterprise software and NVIDIA accelerated computing to enhance its latest AI-powered product experiences. These include Dropbox Dash, universal search that connects apps, tools, and content in a single search bar to help customers find what they need; Dropbox AI, a tool that allows customers to ask questions and get summaries on large files across their entire Dropbox; among other AI capabilities in Dropbox.

AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) today announced revenue for the third quarter of 2023 of $5.8 billion, gross margin of 47%, operating income of $224 million, net income of $299 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.18. On a non-GAAP basis, gross margin was 51%, operating income was $1.3 billion, net income was $1.1 billion and diluted earnings per share was $0.70.

"We delivered strong revenue and earnings growth driven by demand for our Ryzen 7000 series PC processors and record server processor sales," said AMD Chair and CEO Dr. Lisa Su. "Our data center business is on a significant growth trajectory based on the strength of our EPYC CPU portfolio and the ramp of Instinct MI300 accelerator shipments to support multiple deployments with hyperscale, enterprise and AI customers."

TYAN, an industry-leading server platform design manufacturer and a subsidiary of MiTAC Computing Technology Corporation, today announced availability of new single-socket server platforms supporting AMD EPYC 8004 Series processors. These platforms are purpose built for cloud services and intelligent edge deployments while offering lower operating costs and delivering impressive energy efficiency.

"The AMD EPYC 8004 Series CPUs deliver a great combination of impressive performance and streamlined platform componentry which enables us to develop business-relevant server configurations for our customers," said Eric Kuo, Vice President of the Server Infrastructure Business Unit at MiTAC Computing Technology. "TYAN's innovative server platform, fueled by EPYC 8004 Series CPUs, empowers us to provide our customers with cost-effective solutions while also expanding into new markets."

The global server market, grappling with the impact of worldwide inflation, saw significant shifts in 2023. Server OEMs and CSPs revamped their investment strategies, resulting in cutbacks in both annual shipments and ODM production plans. TrendForce observes that as the server market continues to decline, demand for AI surges. These combined factors have had a domino effect, compressing the rollout of new server platforms across the board.

Forecasts predict that this year's shipments of server motherboards are expected to decline by a market of 6~7%. Concurrently, shipments of whole servers aren't faring much better, with a projected decrease of 5~6%.

IBM has launched a new tool to help enterprises track greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across cloud services and advance their sustainability performance throughout their hybrid, multicloud journeys. Now generally available, the IBM Cloud Carbon Calculator - an AI-informed dashboard - can help clients access emissions data across a variety of IBM Cloud workloads such as AI, high performance computing (HPC) and financial services.

Across industries, enterprises are embracing modernization by leveraging hybrid cloud and AI to digitally transform with resiliency, performance, security, and compliance at the forefront, all while remaining focused on delivering value and driving more sustainable business practices. According to a recent study by IBM, 42% of CEOs surveyed pinpoint environmental sustainability as their top challenge over the next three years. At the same time, the study reports that CEOs are facing pressure to adopt generative AI while also weighing the data management needs to make AI successful. The increase in data processing required for AI workloads can present new challenges for organizations that are looking to reduce their GHG emissions. With more than 43% of CEOs surveyed already using generative AI to inform strategic decisions, organizations should prepare to balance executing high performance workloads with sustainability.

Microsoft Corp. today announced the following results for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year:

• Revenue was $56.2 billion and increased 8% (up 10% in constant currency)
• Operating income was $24.3 billion and increased 18% (up 21% in constant currency)
• Net income was $20.1 billion and increased 20% (up 23% in constant currency)
• Diluted earnings per share was $2.69 and increased 21% (up 23% in constant currency)

"Organizations are asking not only how - but how fast - they can apply this next generation of AI to address the biggest opportunities and challenges they face - safely and responsibly," said Satya Nadella, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft. "We remain focused on leading the new AI platform shift, helping customers use the Microsoft Cloud to get the most value out of their digital spend, and driving operating leverage."

Giga Computing, a subsidiary of GIGABYTE and an industry leader in high-performance servers, server motherboards, and workstations, today announced support for the latest 4th Gen AMD EPYC processors. The new processors, based on "Zen 4c" architecture and featuring AMD 3D V-Cache technology, enhance Giga Computing's enterprise solutions, enabling superior performance and scalability for cloud native computing and technical computing applications in GIGABYTE enterprise solutions. To date, more than thirty unique GIGABYTE systems and platforms support the latest generation of AMD EPYC 9004 processors. As time goes on Giga Computing will roll out more new GIGABYTE models for this platform, including more SKUs for immersion-ready servers and direct liquid cooling systems.

"For every new generation of AMD EPYC processors, GIGABYTE has been there, offering diverse platform options for all workloads and users," said Vincent Wang, Sales VP at Giga Computing. "And with the recent announcement of new AMD EPYC 9004 processors for technical computing and cloud native computing, we are also ready to support them at this time on our current AMD EPYC 9004 Series platforms."

We are excited to announce the launch of Poke5, the new member of our 6" eReader lineup. Here you will learn more about the compact eReader with an optimized new design. Poke5 boasts an unparalleled screen-to-body ratio, thanks to its optimized internal construction. Its design prioritizes a refined experience with better grip and viewing comfort. Its 6" touchscreen features E Ink Carta technology with 300 PPI, which mimics the feel of reading on paper and reduces eye fatigue.

Even with the magnetic cover attached, the compact design fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. Additionally, the flush screen design makes the core component of the ePaper screen resistant to impact. The device offers ample storage space for all of your digital content with its upgraded configuration of 2 GB RAM + 32 GB ROM. It also provides expandable storage options through a microSD card or USB-C flash drive. Furthermore, every user can enjoy 10 GB of free cloud storage for Onyx cloud services upon registration.

Microsoft Corp. today announced the following results for the quarter ended March 31, 2023, as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year:

• Revenue was $52.9 billion and increased 7% (up 10% in constant currency)
• Operating income was $22.4 billion and increased 10% (up 15% in constant currency)
• Net income was $18.3 billion and increased 9% (up 14% in constant currency)
• Diluted earnings per share was $2.45 and increased 10% (up 14% in constant currency)

"The world's most advanced AI models are coming together with the world's most universal user interface - natural language - to create a new era of computing," said Satya Nadella, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft. "Across the Microsoft Cloud, we are the platform of choice to help customers get the most value out of their digital spend and innovate for this next generation of AI."

Western Digital has declared that its My Cloud online service has been compromised by a group of hackers late last month: "On March 26, 2023, Western Digital identified a network security incident involving Western Digital's systems. In connection with the ongoing incident, an unauthorized third party gained access to a number of the Company's systems. Upon discovery of the incident, the Company implemented incident response efforts and initiated an investigation with the assistance of leading outside security and forensic experts. This investigation is in its early stages and Western Digital is coordinating with law enforcement authorities."

The statement, issued on April 4, continues: "The Company is implementing proactive measures to secure its business operations including taking systems and services offline and will continue taking additional steps as appropriate. As part of its remediation efforts, Western Digital is actively working to restore impacted infrastructure and services. Based on the investigation to date, the Company believes the unauthorized party obtained certain data from its systems and is working to understand the nature and scope of that data. While Western Digital is focused on remediating this security incident, it has caused and may continue to cause disruption to parts of the Company's business operations."