The Evolution of Compute Architectures for AI: CPU, GPU, TPU, LPU

“The Evolution of  Compute Architectures for AI: CPU, GPU, TPU, LPU”  By Dr. William Kao

Date: Wedn Jan 21, 2026   6:30 - 8:30 PM, at ITRI 2880 Zanker Suite 103. Seminar talk will start at 7PM.

Abstract:

Processors are at the heart of modern computer technology, and understanding the differences between CPU, GPU, TPU, and LPU are now central to discussions around AI model training, inference efficiency, and system performance.

NVIDIA (largest company)  and their GPUs are on everyone’s lips.  Recently you probably have also heard about how Google and their  TPUs plan to  give them a run for their money.

Things got even more interesting after hearing the Nvidia and Groq deal, with GPUs being great for AI training while Groq’s LPU being more efiicient and cost effective for AI inference.

While all four kinds of Processing Units above process data, they are optimized for different workloads.

This seminar will explain the differences between these processors, provide  understanding of their purpose,  their performance focus, and practical applications in modern AI systems.

Come and join us for this newest informative technical talk on AI .

 

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Speaker Bio:

Dr. William Kao received his BSEE, MSEE and PhD from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He worked in the Semiconductor and Electronic Design Automation industries for more than 30 years holding several senior and Executive engineering management positions at Texas Instruments, Xerox Corporation, and Cadence Design Systems.

 Dr. Kao has authored more than 40 technical papers on IC CAD at IEEE Journals and Conferences, and holds eight US software and IC design patents. He was an Adjunct Professor at UCLA Electrical Engineering Department where he taught courses in computer aided IC design.

Dr. Kao is a Senior Member of IEEE, and was one of the founding members of IEEE-Circuits and Systems - Silicon Valley Chapter.

Dr. Kao teaches Clean Technology and Emerging Technology courses at the University of California Santa Cruz, Silicon Valley Extension. 

He has given more than 100 technical seminars on various Emerging Technologies including Clean Technology, Renewable Energy, Big Data and Data Analytics, IoT, Smart Cities, Augmented and Virtual Reality, Robotics, Drones, AI / Machine Learning, Robotics, 5G, 3D Printing, the Metaverse and Satellite Communications.