Google Colaboratory launches pay-as-you-go option, premium GPU access
Google Colaboratory (Colab for short), Google's service designed to allow anyone to write and run arbitrary Python code through a web browser, is introducing a pay-as-you-go plan. 'use. In its first pricing change since Google launched Colab premium plans in 2020, Colab will now offer users the option to purchase additional compute time in Colab with or without a paid subscription.
Google says the update won't affect the free Colab tier, which remains in its current form. The only significant change is that users can purchase compute access in the form of "compute units", starting at $9.99 for 100 units or $49.99 for 500.
As Google Colab Product Manager Chris Perry explains in a blog post:
Paid users now have the option to exhaust their compute quota, measured in compute units, at the rate of their choosing. As compute units are depleted, a user can choose to purchase more with pay-as-you-go at their discretion. Once a user exhausts their compute units, their Colab usage quota reverts to our free tier limits.
Along with the pay-as-you-go rollout, Google announced that paying Colab users can now choose between standard or "premium" GPUs in Colab, with the latter usually being Nvidia V100 or A100 Tensor Core GPUs. (Colab's standard GPUs are typically Nvidia T4 Tensor Core GPUs.) However, the company notes that the assignment of a specific GPU chip type is not guaranteed and depends on a number of factors, including the availability and the balance paid by the user with Colab. /p>
It goes without saying, but premium GPUs will also drain Colab compute units faster than standard GPUs.
Google began telegraphing the rollout of pay-as-you-go options in Colab several weeks ago, when it notified Colab users via email that it was adopting the compute unit system aforementioned for subscribers. He presented the change as a move towards transparency, allowing the user "to have more control over how and when [they] use Colab".
Some saw this move as user-unfriendly: an attempt to charge more or limit the use of Colab. But in a statement to TechCrunch, a Google spokesperson pointed out that the limits still apply to all levels of use of Colab's paid plans.
"[T]hese updates are intended to give users more visibility into...limits," the spokesperson said via email. "Colab will continue to support its free tier, including basic GPU access."
Sensitivity to price changes reflects how much Colab has grown since it spun off from an internal Google Research project in late 2017. The platform has become the de facto digital breadboard for consumers. demonstrations within the AI research community; this is not uncommon for researchers. who have written code to include links to Colab pages on or near GitHub repositories hosting the code.
Google Colaboratory (Colab for short), Google's service designed to allow anyone to write and run arbitrary Python code through a web browser, is introducing a pay-as-you-go plan. 'use. In its first pricing change since Google launched Colab premium plans in 2020, Colab will now offer users the option to purchase additional compute time in Colab with or without a paid subscription.
Google says the update won't affect the free Colab tier, which remains in its current form. The only significant change is that users can purchase compute access in the form of "compute units", starting at $9.99 for 100 units or $49.99 for 500.
As Google Colab Product Manager Chris Perry explains in a blog post:
Paid users now have the option to exhaust their compute quota, measured in compute units, at the rate of their choosing. As compute units are depleted, a user can choose to purchase more with pay-as-you-go at their discretion. Once a user exhausts their compute units, their Colab usage quota reverts to our free tier limits.
Along with the pay-as-you-go rollout, Google announced that paying Colab users can now choose between standard or "premium" GPUs in Colab, with the latter usually being Nvidia V100 or A100 Tensor Core GPUs. (Colab's standard GPUs are typically Nvidia T4 Tensor Core GPUs.) However, the company notes that the assignment of a specific GPU chip type is not guaranteed and depends on a number of factors, including the availability and the balance paid by the user with Colab. /p>
It goes without saying, but premium GPUs will also drain Colab compute units faster than standard GPUs.
Google began telegraphing the rollout of pay-as-you-go options in Colab several weeks ago, when it notified Colab users via email that it was adopting the compute unit system aforementioned for subscribers. He presented the change as a move towards transparency, allowing the user "to have more control over how and when [they] use Colab".
Some saw this move as user-unfriendly: an attempt to charge more or limit the use of Colab. But in a statement to TechCrunch, a Google spokesperson pointed out that the limits still apply to all levels of use of Colab's paid plans.
"[T]hese updates are intended to give users more visibility into...limits," the spokesperson said via email. "Colab will continue to support its free tier, including basic GPU access."
Sensitivity to price changes reflects how much Colab has grown since it spun off from an internal Google Research project in late 2017. The platform has become the de facto digital breadboard for consumers. demonstrations within the AI research community; this is not uncommon for researchers. who have written code to include links to Colab pages on or near GitHub repositories hosting the code.
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