# Episode 63: The Continued March of Custom Silicon, is it Sustainable?

- Show: [The Circuit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit)
- Published: 2024-04-15
- Length: 44m
- Episode: 64
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2024-04-15-episode-63-the-continued-march-of-custom-silicon-is-it-sustainable
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/9a558aec

## Summary

Ben Baharan and Jay Goldberg discuss the accelerating trend of hyper-scalers like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft developing custom silicon, including Google's Axion CPU and Meta's accelerator, to reduce reliance on NVIDIA. They analyze the strategic trade-offs between internal efficiency and third-party adoption, noting that while custom accelerators like TPUs succeed for Google, others like AWS Inferentia have struggled with external market penetration. The hosts also critique the industry's unreliable market sizing forecasts and highlight the ongoing uncertainty regarding whether enterprises will stick with NVIDIA or shift to custom solutions as they scale AI deployments.

## Chapters

- [0:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2024-04-15-episode-63-the-continued-march-of-custom-silicon-is-it-sustainable#t=5) Introduction: Custom Silicon News and Hyper-Scaler Moves
- [3:53](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2024-04-15-episode-63-the-continued-march-of-custom-silicon-is-it-sustainable#t=233) Intel Gaudi 3, Google Axion, and Meta's Accelerator
- [7:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2024-04-15-episode-63-the-continued-march-of-custom-silicon-is-it-sustainable#t=436) Distinguishing Internal Accelerators from Public Cloud CPUs
- [9:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2024-04-15-episode-63-the-continued-march-of-custom-silicon-is-it-sustainable#t=582) Adoption Success: Google TPUs vs. AWS Inferentia
- [11:53](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2024-04-15-episode-63-the-continued-march-of-custom-silicon-is-it-sustainable#t=713) Trade-offs: Price, Performance, and Multi-Cloud Lock-in
- [14:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2024-04-15-episode-63-the-continued-march-of-custom-silicon-is-it-sustainable#t=879) Google's Internal vs. Cloud Strategy and Marvel's Design Services
- [17:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2024-04-15-episode-63-the-continued-march-of-custom-silicon-is-it-sustainable#t=1057) Marvel's Investor Event and the Economics of Custom Silicon
- [22:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2024-04-15-episode-63-the-continued-march-of-custom-silicon-is-it-sustainable#t=1354) Critiquing AI Market Sizing and TAM Forecasts
- [28:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2024-04-15-episode-63-the-continued-march-of-custom-silicon-is-it-sustainable#t=1690) Foundry Capacity Constraints and Wafer Planning
- [30:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2024-04-15-episode-63-the-continued-march-of-custom-silicon-is-it-sustainable#t=1809) NVIDIA's Position and the Threat of Custom Silicon
- [37:48](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2024-04-15-episode-63-the-continued-march-of-custom-silicon-is-it-sustainable#t=2268) Enterprise AI Deployment Uncertainty and Future Risks

## Topics

- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)

## Most relevant to

large enterprises

## Mentioned

- Google (company)
- Axion (product)
- TPU (product)
- Amazon (company)
- Graviton (product)
- Inferentia (product)
- Meta (company)
- Intel (company)
- Gaudi 3 (product)
- NVIDIA (company)
- Marvell (company)
- Global Unichip (company)
- TSMC (company)
- CoreWeave (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [How Much is Enough for Hyperscale Companies?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2019-07-26-how-much-is-enough-for-hyperscale-companies) (EE Times Current)
- [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)
- [AI NEWS | Episode 31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-12-03-ai-news-episode-31) (Built 2 Scale)
- [Can the Nvidia Monopoly on AI Chips Be Broken?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2026-03-16-can-the-nvidia-monopoly-on-ai-chips-be-broken) (EE Times Current)
- [Is ARR a Myth?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-06-19-is-arr-a-myth) (Built 2 Scale)

## Citing this page

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