Anthropic requests Google drop OCS for TPUv9i, enabling more compute

By PulseAugur Editorial · [7 sources] · 2026-09-12 23:00

SemiAnalysis reports that Anthropic is requesting Google to drop Boardfly and Ocean Colour Scene for its dedicated TPUv9i SKU. This change would allow for more die space for compute or memory by eliminating routing cores, integrating with other accelerators like Trainium or GPUs. The proposed network architecture involves a 1-tier flattened network with multiple planes of switches, supporting up to 1,280 interconnected TPUs with a 4:1 oversubscription ratio. AI

IMPACT Potential for increased compute density and efficiency in AI accelerators, impacting future hardware designs.

RANK_REASON The cluster consists of tweets from SemiAnalysis discussing rumors and potential changes to Google's TPU architecture and Anthropic's requests, rather than a direct announcement from a frontier lab.

Read on X — SemiAnalysis →

AI-generated summary · Google Gemini · from 7 sources. How we write summaries →

Anthropic requests Google drop OCS for TPUv9i, enabling more compute

How we ranked this

Signal score: 3 / 100; Composite score across the factors below. Higher = stronger signal that this story matters right now.
Newsworthiness bucket: Commentary; The cluster consists of tweets from SemiAnalysis discussing rumors and potential changes to Google's TPU architecture and Anthropic's requests, rather than a direct announcement from a frontier lab.
Source corroboration: 7 independent sources; Strong cross-source corroboration — multiple independent publishers covered this within the clustering window.
Topics: infra, product; Editorial topic classification. Feeds into how the story surfaces on /topic/<slug> hub pages and into the per-entity coverage mix.
AI-industry relevance: High; Clearly on-topic for AI-industry coverage.
Story freshness: Breaking (< 6h); Fresh story with cross-source coverage still developing. Ranking may shift as more sources report.

Full methodology in our editorial standards.

COVERAGE [7]

X — SemiAnalysis TIER_1 English(EN) · SemiAnalysis_ · 2026-09-12 23:00

To learn more, please check our networking model (7/7) https://t.co/kqt0IiSiFi

To learn more, please check our networking model (7/7) https://t.co/kqt0IiSiFi
X — SemiAnalysis TIER_1 English(EN) · SemiAnalysis_ · 2026-09-12 23:00

The main benefit for Anthropic would be more die space for compute or memory since the routing cores could be dropped as it should be handled by the switches, a

The main benefit for Anthropic would be more die space for compute or memory since the routing cores could be dropped as it should be handled by the switches, and a unified network architecture with other accelerators, such as Trainium or GPUs, as only Google’s TPUs are currently
X — SemiAnalysis TIER_1 English(EN) · SemiAnalysis_ · 2026-09-12 23:00

This would leave 64 ports for cross-plane or intra-plane dragonfly interconnect, meaning a 4:1 oversubscription ratio and a maximum cluster size of up to 1,280

This would leave 64 ports for cross-plane or intra-plane dragonfly interconnect, meaning a 4:1 oversubscription ratio and a maximum cluster size of up to 1,280 interconnected TPUs. (5/7)
X — SemiAnalysis TIER_1 English(EN) · SemiAnalysis_ · 2026-09-12 23:00

Looking a the topology, we expect it to be a 1-tier flattened network, with 5 planes of 24 switches or 24 planes of 5 switches. Each switch should connect to 4

Looking a the topology, we expect it to be a 1-tier flattened network, with 5 planes of 24 switches or 24 planes of 5 switches. Each switch should connect to 4 compute racks and each rack should connect to 24 switches at 300G per lane. (4/7) https://t.co/0n619Dwisy
X — SemiAnalysis TIER_1 English(EN) · SemiAnalysis_ · 2026-09-12 23:00

Rumors have hinted towards an updated version of ALAB’s PCIe Scorpio-X switch featuring 320-radix. This updated version should bring 336G SerDes, opposed to the

Rumors have hinted towards an updated version of ALAB’s PCIe Scorpio-X switch featuring 320-radix. This updated version should bring 336G SerDes, opposed to the current 128G and could ultimately be manufactured by multiple vendors. (3/7) https://t.co/UCmuJmYCSe
X — SemiAnalysis TIER_1 English(EN) · SemiAnalysis_ · 2026-09-12 23:00

This request seems to be coming from Anthropic, requesting Google to drop Boardfly and OCS for the AI lab’s dedicated TPUv9i SKU. (2/7)

This request seems to be coming from Anthropic, requesting Google to drop Boardfly and OCS for the AI lab’s dedicated TPUv9i SKU. (2/7)
X — SemiAnalysis TIER_1 English(EN) · SemiAnalysis_ · 2026-09-12 23:00

Following 6D-Torus, there have been some industry chatters around a full electrical switching ICI for Triggerfish, Google’s next generation TPUv9i manufactured

Following 6D-Torus, there have been some industry chatters around a full electrical switching ICI for Triggerfish, Google’s next generation TPUv9i manufactured by MediaTek. (1/7)🧵 https://t.co/OXNpDSqZUw

How we ranked this

COVERAGE [7]

To learn more, please check our networking model (7/7) https://t.co/kqt0IiSiFi

The main benefit for Anthropic would be more die space for compute or memory since the routing cores could be dropped as it should be handled by the switches, a

This would leave 64 ports for cross-plane or intra-plane dragonfly interconnect, meaning a 4:1 oversubscription ratio and a maximum cluster size of up to 1,280

Looking a the topology, we expect it to be a 1-tier flattened network, with 5 planes of 24 switches or 24 planes of 5 switches. Each switch should connect to 4

Rumors have hinted towards an updated version of ALAB’s PCIe Scorpio-X switch featuring 320-radix. This updated version should bring 336G SerDes, opposed to the

This request seems to be coming from Anthropic, requesting Google to drop Boardfly and OCS for the AI lab’s dedicated TPUv9i SKU. (2/7)

Following 6D-Torus, there have been some industry chatters around a full electrical switching ICI for Triggerfish, Google’s next generation TPUv9i manufactured

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