The chip, reportedly due in 2028, could generate up to 10 times more tokens per watt than Google's current AI silicon — a direct response to investor pressure over ballooning AI spend.
Google is designing a new server chip called “Frozen v2” aimed at making its Gemini large language models run significantly more efficiently, with a target release of 2028, according to a report by The Information cited by TechCrunch [1].
The chip could be between six and ten times more efficient than Google’s existing AI chips, measured by the number of tokens — the units of text that AI models process and generate — produced per unit of power consumed [1]. That kind of efficiency improvement would have direct cost implications for running inference workloads at scale.
Why Google Is Pushing Its Own Silicon
Google’s parent company Alphabet has said it plans to spend between $180 billion and $190 billion to build out its AI strategy, a figure that has previously unsettled investors [1]. A chip that dramatically cuts the energy cost of running Gemini would help justify that outlay by lowering the per-query operating cost over time.
The broader industry context matters here. AI companies have increasingly moved to design their own chips to reduce dependence on Nvidia, which has historically dominated the AI chip market and left major AI developers reliant on its hardware, according to TechCrunch’s reporting [1]. Custom silicon also lets companies co-optimize hardware and software together — an approach Google explicitly referenced in its response to TechCrunch [1].
Google did not directly confirm or deny the Frozen v2 report. “Our teams are constantly researching and experimenting with new innovations to deliver maximum performance and efficiency for our users and customers,” the company told TechCrunch [1].
A Crowded Race for Custom AI Chips
Google is not alone in this push. In June, OpenAI announced its first custom chip, an inference processor called Jalapeño [1]. Separately, Anthropic has been reported to be in discussions about a new chipmaking partnership with Samsung [1].
News of Frozen v2 appeared to move markets: following publication of The Information’s report, Alphabet’s stock climbed roughly 3% on Monday morning, ahead of the company’s earnings report later that week [1].
Sources
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