# Ep. 27 | Two Google Senior VPs of Engineering: From Shipping Containers to Today's Data Centers

- Show: [Moore's Lobby](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby)
- Published: 2021-06-22
- Length: 58m
- Episode: 12
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2021-06-22-ep-27-two-google-senior-vps-of-engineering-from-shipping-containers-to-todays-da
- Listen: https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/podcast/ep-27-two-google-senior-vps-of-engineering-from-shipping-containers-to-todays-data-centers

## Summary

Google Fellows Luiz Barroso and Amin Vahdat discuss the evolution of Google's data center infrastructure, from early 'broom closet' colocation facilities and shipping container prototypes to modern, energy-efficient warehouse-scale systems. They explain how Google shifted from relying on commodity hardware to designing custom domain-specific accelerators like TPUs for machine learning and video processing to overcome the limits of Moore's Law. The conversation also covers the critical importance of energy proportionality, Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), and the cultural philosophy of 'healthy hubris' that drives Google's engineering decisions.

## Chapters

- [0:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2021-06-22-ep-27-two-google-senior-vps-of-engineering-from-shipping-containers-to-todays-da#t=1) Introduction and Guest Backgrounds
- [14:52](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2021-06-22-ep-27-two-google-senior-vps-of-engineering-from-shipping-containers-to-todays-da#t=892) Early Data Centers and Shipping Containers
- [26:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2021-06-22-ep-27-two-google-senior-vps-of-engineering-from-shipping-containers-to-todays-da#t=1562) Energy Efficiency and PUE
- [35:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2021-06-22-ep-27-two-google-senior-vps-of-engineering-from-shipping-containers-to-todays-da#t=2113) Domain-Specific Accelerators and TPUs
- [38:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2021-06-22-ep-27-two-google-senior-vps-of-engineering-from-shipping-containers-to-todays-da#t=2324) Software vs. Hardware Solutions
- [42:45](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2021-06-22-ep-27-two-google-senior-vps-of-engineering-from-shipping-containers-to-todays-da#t=2565) Cryptocurrency and Societal Impact
- [46:26](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2021-06-22-ep-27-two-google-senior-vps-of-engineering-from-shipping-containers-to-todays-da#t=2786) Personal Friendship and Mentorship
- [56:14](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2021-06-22-ep-27-two-google-senior-vps-of-engineering-from-shipping-containers-to-todays-da#t=3374) Future of Google and Online Safety

## Topics

- [Energy & climate tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/energy-and-climate-tech)
- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)

## Most relevant to

large enterprises

## Mentioned

- Google (company)
- TPU (chip)
- Digital Equipment (company)
- Fry's Electronics (company)
- The Datacenter as a Computer (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Inside Google’s massive AI capex (live)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2026-04-23-inside-googles-massive-ai-capex-live) (Catalyst)
- [Episode 15: Growth Drivers for Semiconductors in the Datacenter](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2023-04-17-episode-15-growth-drivers-for-semiconductors-in-the-datacenter) (The Circuit)
- [Google TPU vs Nvidia GPUs: Token Per Watt Dominance, or the Era of Scaling Is Over?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-11-26-google-tpu-vs-nvidia-gpus-token-per-watt-dominance-or-the-era-of-scaling-is-over) (Built 2 Scale)
- [An Interview with Rick Altherr](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-08-29-an-interview-with-rick-altherr) (The Amp Hour)
- [HIBT Lab! Google: Sundar Pichai](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2022-06-09-hibt-lab-google-sundar-pichai) (How I Built This)

## Citing this page

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