The lawsuit comes at a time when there is a high demand for powerful computer chips due to the rise of generative AI. The global AI chip market, valued at $14.9 billion in 2022, is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 40.5% through 2030. Google's lawyer, Robert Van Nest, has defended the company, stating that Bates is a "disappointed inventor" whose designs were rejected by Google and other companies due to the use of approximate math, which could lead to incorrect calculations.
Key takeaways:
- Google is facing a billion-dollar patent lawsuit from Singular Computing LLC, which alleges that Google's Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) were developed using stolen designs.
- Singular Computing's founder, Joseph Bates, claims that Google used his innovations to build its TPUs for AI-related tasks and is seeking $1.67 billion in damages.
- Google has denied the allegations, stating that its own scientists developed the TPU chips independently and that Bates is a "disappointed inventor" who failed to persuade other companies to use his designs.
- The lawsuit comes at a time when there is a huge demand for powerful computer chips that can run AI workloads, with the worldwide AI chip market expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 40.5% through 2030.