Broadcom Launches Tomahawk Ultra, Promises Ethernet That’s So Fast It Might Time Travel

In today’s episode of “Silicon Valley Solves Problems It Created,” Broadcom has unveiled its Tomahawk Ultra, a networking chip that’s so fast and lossless, it might finally give that cursed Zoom call at 4:30 p.m. the dignity it deserves.

Let’s be clear: this chip is not your grandma’s Ethernet. No, the Tomahawk Ultra is here to “reimagine” the Ethernet switch, because apparently all the existing switches were too busy losing packets and dignity under AI workloads. Built with ultra-low latency, in-network collectives, and headers so small they need a magnifying glass, this chip claims to deliver “supercomputer-class” performance in the humble skin of a networking box.

“Tomahawk Ultra is a testament to innovation,” says Ram Velaga, SVP of Broadcom’s Core Switching Group.
Translation: We paid hundreds of engineers to make Ethernet stop sucking for AI.

🥇 Feature or Flex?

Broadcom says the chip can handle 77 billion packets per second. That’s right — billion, with a B. Somewhere out there, a poor intern is still counting. Add to that 250ns switch latency, 51.2 Tbps throughput, and a 10-byte Ethernet header — the tech equivalent of squeezing a symphony into a kazoo.

And let’s talk about this “lossless fabric.” With Link Layer Retry and Credit-Based Flow Control, Tomahawk Ultra makes sure not a single packet gets left behind. Honestly, it’s more reliable than half the people in your startup Slack channel.

But it’s not just about the tech. It’s about the chorus of executive quotes desperately trying to out-synergy each other.

🎤 Quote-ocalypse

“AI and HPC workloads are converging... supercomputer-class latency... open-standards Ethernet...”
— Kunjan Sobhani, Bloomberg Intelligence
Translation: “I dare you to challenge me on any of these buzzwords. I double-dog dare you.”

“With 51.2 Tbps Ethernet switching... Tomahawk Ultra is a perfect solution...”
— Michael KT Lee, Accton
Apparently perfection is 51.2 Tbps. Sorry, 51.1 — you’re trash.

“Together, we’re advancing an open ecosystem that brings our vision of AI everywhere, for everyone...”
— Forrest Norrod, AMD
Even your toaster will infer your breakfast preference using AI and Broadcom switches.

“Once again Broadcom is setting the pace in the AI and the switch industry.”
— Simon Capper, Arista
The switch industry needed a pace car, and Broadcom brought a Tesla Cybertruck with NOS.

“A groundbreaking advancement... accelerating job completion times...”
— Shekar Ayyar, Arrcus
Ironically, reading all these quotes delayed my job completion time by 30 minutes.

“... drive sustainable change for humanity and the environment...”
— Vincent Lin, Inventec
Didn’t realize Ethernet headers were the key to saving the planet. Greta, take notes.

“An unmatched combination of bandwidth, latency, and cutting-edge features...”
— Kiyo Oishi, IPI
Also how I describe the personality of my golden retriever.

“Tomahawk Ultra... the most efficient scale-up and UEC compatible scale-out Ethernet...”
— Anshul Sadana, Nexthop AI
You know a quote's spicy when it sounds like a cheat code for SimCity: Hyperscaler Edition.

📦 Now Shipping (with Hype Included)

Broadcom swears the Tomahawk Ultra is pin-compatible with the previous Tomahawk 5, so all the hyperscalers can upgrade without calling in their overworked sysadmins. If that isn’t love, what is?

Also introduced: SUE-Lite, the networking spec named like a failed Marvel spin-off. It’s lighter, smaller, and presumably more eco-friendly — like a Prius made of pure bandwidth.

Final Thought:

Broadcom wants you to believe Ethernet is sexy again. And maybe it is, if you're the type who dreams in packet headers and flow control mechanisms. But hey — if it means AI clusters stop choking on their own traffic mid-inference, maybe sexy Ethernet is just what the future ordered.

Now excuse me while I attempt to reflash my router’s firmware and pretend it has “in-network collectives.”