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Accelerating AI: Google Introduces The Ironwood Chip

by News Editor

April 13, 2025

In a significant leap for artificial intelligence, Alphabet (GOOGL.O) has unveiled its innovative seventh-generation AI chip, the Ironwood. This new processor is set to enhance the speed and efficiency of AI applications, such as those powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT, by performing high-speed data crunching known as ‘inference’ computing.

This development is part of Google’s long-term investment in AI technology, presenting a viable alternative to Nvidia’s dominant chips in the market. Google’s tensor processing units (TPUs), accessible through the company’s cloud services, provide a competitive edge by streamlining AI model development and operational costs.

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The Ironwood chip, introduced at a recent cloud conference, is optimized for running AI applications, known as inference tasks, working in massive groups of up to 9,216 chips. These advancements consolidate previous chip designs while increasing memory capacity, making them ideal for modern AI challenges.

Amin Vahdat, Google’s Vice President, emphasized that inference computing’s importance is rapidly increasing. Ironwood chips offer twice the performance efficiency compared to last year’s Trillium chips. While the specific manufacturer of these chips remains undisclosed, the integration of the Ironwood chip into Google’s Gemini AI models is notable.

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Cypriot Government Employment Sees Modest Growth in April

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

May 12, 2025

Total government employment in Cyprus increased by 237 persons, a rise of 0.4 per cent, in April, compared to the same month in 2024, reaching a total of 55,490 employees, according to the state statistical service.

Employment in the civil service and the security forces decreased by 1.2 per cent and 1.1 per cent respectively, while the educational service saw an increase of 3.8 per cent.

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Civil Service and Educational Service Breakdown

In April 2025, the civil service employed 11,960 permanent staff, 4,141 employees with contracts of indefinite duration, 1,458 with contracts of definite duration, and 5,798 hourly paid workers.

Permanent employees represented the highest proportion of the civil service workforce at 51.2 per cent, while employees with contracts of definite duration made up the lowest proportion at 6.2 per cent.

In the educational service, there were 12,461 permanent employees, 947 with contracts of indefinite duration, 4,824 with contracts of definite duration, and 141 hourly paid workers.

Permanent staff formed the majority of the educational workforce at 67.8 per cent, while hourly paid workers accounted for only 0.8 per cent.

Security Forces Breakdown

Within the security forces, 8,430 were permanent employees, 4,304 held contracts of indefinite duration, 267 were on definite-duration contracts, and 759 were hourly paid workers.

Permanent employees again made up the largest group in the security forces at 61.3 per cent, with definite-duration contracts representing just 1.9 per cent.