🔍 Read the full analysis: A Report Says OpenAI May Buy Google TPUs. What Happens To Nvidia? on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
Get the latest gadgets delivered free with Prime
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
- Member-only deals all year
TL;DR
The Information and Bloomberg reported that OpenAI plans to buy Google’s AI chips, known as TPUs, but neither company has confirmed an agreement. OpenAI is already pursuing several non-Nvidia chip partnerships, while Google has begun offering TPUs beyond its own data centers. The scale, timing and effect on Nvidia remain unknown.
The Information and Bloomberg reported on October 27 and 28 that OpenAI plans to buy Google’s AI chips, known as tensor processing units, or TPUs. Neither company has confirmed a purchase, and the reports provide no price, chip quantity or delivery schedule, so the development is a reported plan rather than an announced deal.
The Information first reported the plan, citing one person familiar with the matter. Bloomberg reported it the following day, also citing one person. Reuters, relaying The Information’s report, said financial terms and other details could not be learned. OpenAI declined to comment; Google did not comment, according to the source material. The available reporting does not establish whether the parties have reached final terms.
There is evidence that OpenAI is working on TPU software. Its careers page listed a TPU Compilers engineering role, posted October 20, seeking experience optimizing machine-learning workloads on TPUs. That points to active technical work, but a job listing does not establish that OpenAI has ordered chips or committed to deploy them at scale.
Google, meanwhile, has begun offering TPUs outside its own data centers. The source material says Google reported nearly 100 TPU customers on its October 28 earnings call and named Anthropic and Apple. Oracle said it will offer Google TPUs through its cloud from 2027. Those developments make an OpenAI purchase more plausible as a business possibility, but they do not confirm one.
Infographic 01 · Reported, documented, confirmed
OpenAI and Google’s TPUs: what we actually know
The purchase itself is a report. The pieces around it, Google selling its chips and OpenAI hiring for them, are on the record.
- OpenAI plans to buy Google’s AI chipsReported
The Information, 27 October; Bloomberg, 28 October. Each cites one person familiar with the matter. OpenAI declined to comment; Google did not comment.
- OpenAI is hiring to optimize its frontier models on TPUsPrimary document
“Software Engineer, TPU Compilers”, posted on OpenAI’s careers page on 20 October 2026. A sign of serious work, not a purchase order.
- Google sells TPU systems into customers’ own data centersConfirmed
Announced on 29 April, first deliveries in the second quarter, “a meaningful revenue ramp in 2027” (Alphabet’s CFO, 28 October).
- Oracle will offer Google TPUs in its cloudConfirmed
The first cloud outside Google to do so. Available in calendar year 2027, ramping over several years.
- Price, number of chips, TPU generation, delivery dates, locationNot known
Nothing published. Not even whether the chips would sit in Google’s data centers, OpenAI’s or a partner’s.
How OpenAI and Google got here
- Jun 2025OpenAI rents Google TPUs, calls it early testingReuters: no active plans to deploy them at scale
- 29 Apr 2026Google: TPUs for customers’ own data centersAlphabet Q1 earnings call
- 20 Oct 2026OpenAI posts a TPU compiler jobOpenAI careers page
- 21 Oct 2026OpenAI models coming to Google CloudOpenAI announcement, as reported by Reuters
- 27 Oct 2026The Information reports the purchase plan; Oracle announces TPUsReported · Oracle press release
- 28 Oct 2026Bloomberg reports it too; Alphabet’s call does not mention OpenAIReported · Alphabet Q3 call
“Reported” means the outlets’ own reporting, which I could read only in part (paywalls). “Confirmed” means the company’s own statement or filing.
Sources: The Information via Reuters, 27 Oct 2026, Bloomberg, 28 Oct 2026, as cited by The Asia Business Daily, OpenAI careers, posted 20 Oct 2026, Reuters, 30 Jun 2025, Alphabet Q1 call, 29 Apr 2026, Q3 call, 28 Oct 2026, Oracle, 27 Oct 2026.
Powered by Thorsten Meyer AI
More Chip Suppliers, More Leverage
If OpenAI adds Google TPUs to its supply mix, the main near-term implication could be greater negotiating leverage with chip and cloud providers, rather than an immediate end to its reliance on Nvidia. Large AI developers need substantial computing capacity, and having credible alternatives may give them more options on price, availability and deployment arrangements.
OpenAI’s other announced arrangements already show that it is seeking alternatives. The source material lists agreements or plans involving AMD, Broadcom, Cerebras and Amazon, alongside Nvidia. It gives figures of 6 gigawatts for AMD, 10 gigawatts of custom chips for Broadcom, 750 megawatts for Cerebras and about 2 gigawatts of Amazon Trainium capacity. These are different arrangements and do not, by themselves, show how much computing capacity is operating today. The source also describes a 2025 Nvidia letter of intent for 10 gigawatts.
Any change could matter to companies competing for AI computing, since demand for advanced chips and data-center capacity is high. For ChatGPT users, however, no immediate change is established. The source says many of the capacity plans are expected in 2027 or later, and it is not known whether broader chip sourcing would affect product speed, availability or prices.
Products Worth Considering
Amazon Kindle Scribe Colorsoft 64GB (1st Generation)
Logitech MX Keys S Wireless Keyboard, Graphite
Anker SOLIX C300 Portable Power Station, 288Wh
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Google Opens TPU Sales
Google designed TPUs for its own data centers and has made them available to cloud customers through Google Cloud. In 2026, it began taking a further step by delivering TPU systems to selected customers’ own data centers. On an April 29 earnings call, Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said Google would begin those deliveries as demand grew among AI labs and other customers.
OpenAI and Google have had some TPU-related contact before. Reuters reported in June 2025 that OpenAI had begun renting Google TPUs through Google Cloud. OpenAI told Reuters at the time that it was in early testing and had no active plans to deploy them at scale. On October 21, 2026, OpenAI also said its frontier models would be available through Google Cloud. These earlier steps show a working relationship, not proof of a new hardware purchase.
The reported plan would also not be OpenAI’s first move beyond Nvidia. The company has announced other chip partnerships, according to the supplied source material. Calling the Google report its first departure from Nvidia would overlook those earlier arrangements. Google would stand out because it is both a potential chip supplier and an AI competitor.
“As TPU demand grows from AI labs, capital markets firms, and high performance computing applications, we will begin to deliver TPUs to a select group of customers in their own data centers in a hardware configuration.”
— Sundar Pichai, Google chief executive, on the April 29, 2026 earnings call
Deal Terms Remain Unknown
No purchase has been publicly confirmed, and the reports rely on one unnamed source each. The source material does not identify the number or generation of TPUs involved, the price, a delivery date, or whether OpenAI would run the hardware in Google’s cloud, its own facilities, or a partner’s data centers.
It is also unclear whether the reported plan has advanced to a signed contract or how much computing capacity it could provide. The job listing and Google’s broader sales push are relevant indicators, not confirmation of an order. No evidence supplied here shows that OpenAI is ending or materially reducing its Nvidia use. The scale and effect on Nvidia remain uncertain.
Watch for a Confirmed Agreement
The next meaningful update would be a statement from OpenAI or Google, or reporting that establishes whether a contract has been signed and specifies its terms. Relevant details include capacity, delivery timing and deployment location, as well as whether the arrangement is a direct hardware sale or access through a cloud provider.
Until those details emerge, the report should be treated as an indication of a possible supply agreement, not a completed transaction. Google’s planned Oracle cloud offering from 2027 and OpenAI’s other chip commitments may provide further evidence of how AI computing supply is changing, but they do not settle what OpenAI will buy or when.
Key Questions
Has OpenAI confirmed that it will buy Google TPUs?
No. The Information and Bloomberg reported a plan, but the source material says OpenAI declined to comment and Google did not comment. No confirmed agreement is established.
What are Google TPUs?
TPUs, or tensor processing units, are AI chips designed by Google. Google has used them in its own data centers and is now offering systems to selected customers beyond its own facilities.
Would a Google deal end OpenAI’s reliance on Nvidia?
There is no evidence in the supplied material that OpenAI plans to stop using Nvidia chips. OpenAI has announced several other chip arrangements, but the scale and timing of any Google purchase remain unknown.
Could the report change ChatGPT for users?
No immediate user change is established. The source material does not say that the reported plan would alter ChatGPT’s price, speed or availability, and many of the chip capacity plans discussed are for 2027 or later.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
