https://qsysarch.com/categories/xpu/Recent content in Xpu on QSysArch - Quantum Computer System ArchitectureHugoen-usSun, 28 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://qsysarch.com/posts/ai-inference-hardware-acceleration-architecture/Sun, 28 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://qsysarch.com/posts/ai-inference-hardware-acceleration-architecture/<p>xPU: It is an umbrella term for a specialised Processing Unit (PU), where &ldquo;x&rdquo; can represent any computing architecture customised for a specific workload. Common variations include GPUs (graphics), TPUs (tensor/AI), NPUs (neural), DPUs (data), or PPUs (pulse, mainly used for quantum control stacks).</p> <p> <img class="glightbox" src="https://qsysarch.com/images/gpxpus/xpu-system-architecture.webp" alt="XPUs: Specialized Coprocessing System Architecture" /></p> <p>This super-short memo aims to provide insights into the xPU market landscape as applied to AI inference.</p> <h1 id="market-landscape"> Market Landscape <a class="heading-link" href="#market-landscape"> <i class="fa-solid fa-link" aria-hidden="true" title="Link to heading"></i> <span class="sr-only">Link to heading</span> </a> </h1> <p>When looking at the market landscape for AI inference Asic, the most useful axis may not be raw performance but whether a vendor&rsquo;s differentiation is defensible over a 3–5 year horizon. From this angle, Three clusters emerge:</p>