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TL;DR
The Information and Bloomberg report that OpenAI plans to buy Google’s AI chips, citing one person familiar with the matter each. OpenAI and Google have not confirmed a purchase, and its size, price and timing are unknown. The reports come as Google begins selling TPUs beyond its own data centers and OpenAI lines up several non-Nvidia chip suppliers.
The Information and Bloomberg reported on October 27 and 28 that OpenAI plans to buy Google’s tensor processing units, or TPUs, adding a potential new supplier as it builds computing capacity for AI. Neither company has confirmed a purchase: both reports cite one person familiar with the matter, and the price, chip quantity and delivery schedule have not been disclosed.
The Information first reported the plan on October 27, and Bloomberg reported it the following day. Reuters, relaying The Information’s report, said it could not learn financial terms or other details. OpenAI declined to comment, while Google did not comment, according to the accounts described in the source material. The reports indicate an intended purchase, not a publicly announced or completed deal.
There is evidence that OpenAI is working on TPU technology, but it does not establish that the company has placed an order. An OpenAI careers listing published October 20 seeks a software engineer to work on TPU compilers and says the role would help optimize the company’s frontier models on TPUs. The listing shows technical preparation; it is not a purchase order or confirmation of a deployment plan.
OpenAI has previously tested Google chips. Reuters reported in June 2025 that OpenAI had begun renting TPUs through Google Cloud. OpenAI then told Reuters the work was in early testing and that it had no active plan to deploy TPUs at scale. The two companies also have a commercial relationship beyond chips: on October 21, 2026, OpenAI said its frontier models would be available through Google Cloud.
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.
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More Options in the Chip Supply
If a purchase is confirmed, Google would become another potential source of computing capacity for a company whose AI products require large amounts of specialized hardware. The importance is not that Nvidia has been replaced: Nvidia remains a major supplier, and the reported Google deal has no public terms. Rather, the possibility of shifting some work among different chips could give OpenAI more options as it secures capacity and negotiates with suppliers.
The source material lists a series of OpenAI chip arrangements announced over the past year: a 2025 letter of intent involving Nvidia for 10 gigawatts, an AMD deal for 6 gigawatts, a Broadcom agreement covering 10 gigawatts of custom chips, 750 megawatts from Cerebras, and about 2 gigawatts of Amazon Trainium. These figures describe different arrangements and should not be read as directly comparable measures of chips already installed or available. If the Google report proves accurate, it would add another supplier—and one that also competes with OpenAI in AI products.
For cloud customers and ChatGPT users, any direct effect is unclear. The reported deal’s scale, location and timetable are unknown, and the source material says many of OpenAI’s other announced chip arrangements are expected to deliver capacity in 2027 or later. There is no reported change to ChatGPT service tied to this development.
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Google Begins Selling TPUs Beyond Its Cloud
Google designed TPUs for its own data centers and has also made them available to rent through Google Cloud. In 2026, it began offering systems for use in some customers’ own data centers, according to the company’s public statements described in the source material. On its April 29 earnings call, chief executive Sundar Pichai said Google would start delivering TPUs to a select group of customers in a hardware configuration for their facilities, citing growing demand from AI labs, financial firms and high-performance computing users.
Google said on its October 28 earnings call that nearly 100 customers use TPUs, naming Anthropic and Apple, and announced partnerships with Oracle and Crux AI. Oracle said it would offer Google TPUs through its cloud from 2027. Those steps give the OpenAI reports a broader industry backdrop: Google is making the chips available to more customers, but that commercial expansion does not confirm a separate OpenAI purchase.
OpenAI’s relationship with Google is also not limited to the reported chip plan. The companies compete in AI, including chatbots, while OpenAI has begun making its frontier models available through Google Cloud. Earlier TPU testing and the new hiring listing suggest continuing technical work, but neither establishes how much computing OpenAI might move to Google hardware.
““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 an April 29, 2026 earnings call
Deal Terms Remain Undisclosed
The reported OpenAI purchase has not been confirmed by either company. It is unclear how many chips OpenAI might buy, which TPU generation is involved, what they would cost, when they could be delivered or where they would run. The available reporting also does not establish whether OpenAI would use Google’s data centers, its own facilities or a partner’s infrastructure.
The reports cite one person familiar with the matter each, and the available source material does not provide an independently disclosed contract or purchase order. The TPU job listing supports the view that OpenAI is developing relevant expertise, but it does not show that a deal has been signed. Nor is it clear whether the reports describe a final commitment, a plan under discussion or a purchase subject to further negotiations.
Even if OpenAI adds Google TPUs, the effect on Nvidia’s role, OpenAI’s computing costs or product performance cannot be determined from the available information. The figures for other chip agreements include announced commitments and plans, not necessarily delivered capacity. No user-facing price or speed change has been announced.
Watch for Terms and Delivery Plans
The next clear development would be a statement from OpenAI or Google, or reporting that establishes whether an agreement has been signed and identifies its scope. Key details to watch include chip quantity and generation, price, delivery timing, and whether the systems will run in Google Cloud, Oracle’s cloud or another location.
Oracle’s announced TPU cloud service is scheduled to begin in 2027, while the source material gives no delivery date for any potential OpenAI purchase. Until the companies provide more information, the reports should be treated as a sign of a possible supplier expansion—not as a completed shift away from Nvidia. For users, there is no announced service change; the practical consequences depend on whether a deal is confirmed and how much capacity it provides.
Key Questions
Has OpenAI confirmed that it will buy Google TPUs?
No. The Information and Bloomberg reported a plan, each citing one person familiar with the matter, but neither OpenAI nor Google has confirmed a purchase.
What are Google TPUs?
TPUs, or tensor processing units, are AI computing chips designed by Google. The company has used them in its own data centers and offers access through Google Cloud; in 2026 it also began describing plans to supply systems for some customers’ own data centers.
Would a Google TPU deal mean OpenAI is leaving Nvidia?
There is no evidence of that. OpenAI has announced or reported arrangements involving multiple chip suppliers, including Nvidia. A Google purchase, if confirmed, would add an option; its scale and effect on Nvidia’s role are unknown.
Could the reported plan change ChatGPT for users?
No user-facing change has been announced. The size and timing of the reported purchase are unknown, so its effect on ChatGPT’s availability, speed or price cannot be established.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
