By Danny Vena, CPA, The Motley Fool
Publication Date: 2026-06-16 00:45:00
One of the key tenets of Alphabet‘s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) artificial intelligence (AI) strategy has long been the company’s custom-built semiconductors. The Google parent first developed its Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) more than a decade ago, and these custom processors were “purpose-built specifically for AI,” according to the company, becoming a key part of its strategic advantage.
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These application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) are “a chip designed for a single, specific purpose,” according to Google: providing the computational horsepower for “running the unique matrix and vector-based mathematics that’s needed for building and running AI models.”