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TL;DR
The Information and Bloomberg reported that OpenAI plans to buy Google’s AI chips, known as TPUs, but the companies have not confirmed a purchase. The report comes as Google expands TPU sales and OpenAI adds other chip suppliers; price, scale and timing remain unknown.
OpenAI plans to buy Google’s tensor processing units, according to reports by The Information and Bloomberg published October 27 and 28, a possible expansion of its computing options beyond Nvidia. Neither company has confirmed a purchase, and no price, chip quantity or delivery schedule has been disclosed.
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 it could not learn financial terms or other details. OpenAI declined to comment, while Google did not comment, according to the source material. The reporting therefore describes a plan, not a publicly confirmed order or completed deal.
There is evidence that OpenAI is working on TPU technology, but it does not establish a purchase. A TPU Compilers engineering role on OpenAI’s careers page, posted October 20, seeks experience optimizing machine-learning workloads on TPUs. The posting describes work on the technology; it is not evidence of a signed contract or planned deployment at a particular scale.
The reported possibility follows other links between the companies. OpenAI said October 21 that its frontier models would be available through Google Cloud. Reuters reported in June 2025 that OpenAI had begun renting Google TPUs through that service; OpenAI told Reuters at the time that it was in early testing and had no active plans to deploy them at scale. The source material does not establish whether the newly reported plan concerns Google Cloud capacity or chips installed elsewhere.
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 for OpenAI’s Compute
If a purchase proceeds, it would add another potential source of computing for a company whose products depend on large-scale AI infrastructure. OpenAI has announced arrangements involving Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom, Cerebras and Amazon, as well as the reported Google plan. The source lists announced capacity commitments or plans in gigawatts for several suppliers, but those figures describe different deals and should not be treated as equivalent amounts of delivered computing.
A broader supplier base could give OpenAI more flexibility in sourcing chips and negotiating supply, though those are possible effects, not confirmed outcomes. Google’s position is distinctive: it supplies cloud services and competes with OpenAI in AI products. For cloud customers, Google’s expansion of TPU offerings could make another type of AI hardware available through more channels. No evidence in the reports says the arrangement would lower ChatGPT prices or speed up the service, and there is no user-facing change announced.
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Google Opens TPU Sales Beyond Cloud
Google developed TPUs for use in its own data centers and has also offered access to them through Google Cloud. In April 2026, Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said Google would begin delivering TPU systems in a hardware configuration to selected customers’ own data centers, citing demand from AI labs, financial firms and high-performance computing applications. Google’s October 28 earnings call, according to the source material, said nearly 100 customers use TPUs and named Anthropic and Apple.
Google has also announced routes for customers to access its chips through partners. Oracle said October 27 that it plans to offer Google TPUs in its cloud from 2027, and Google announced partnerships with Oracle and Crux AI, according to the source. Those developments show Google is expanding TPU availability; they do not confirm that OpenAI has placed an order.
The reported plan would not mark OpenAI’s first use of non-Nvidia chips. OpenAI has previously announced arrangements with AMD, Broadcom, Cerebras and Amazon. The source material cites a 2025 Nvidia letter of intent and later commitments with other suppliers, but the terms, delivery status and capacity measures differ. Describing Google as a potential additional supplier is more accurate than saying OpenAI is making its first move away from Nvidia.
“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 company’s first-quarter 2026 earnings call
Deal Terms Remain Undisclosed
OpenAI and Google have not confirmed the reported purchase. The reports cite one person familiar with the matter each, and the source material provides no public contract, purchase order or company statement verifying a deal. It is unclear whether discussions are preliminary, whether an agreement has been signed, or whether the plan could change.
Key details are also missing: the number and generation of TPUs, price, delivery date, deployment location and expected share of OpenAI’s workloads. It is not known whether the chips would run in Google’s data centers, in OpenAI’s own facilities or through a cloud partner. Nor is there information establishing how much computing capacity, if any, the reported plan would provide.
Confirmation and Delivery Details
The next clear milestones would be a statement from OpenAI or Google, disclosure of an agreement’s terms, or reporting that establishes whether the plan has become an order. Until then, the reported purchase should be treated as unconfirmed. Google’s announced plan to make TPUs available through Oracle from 2027 is a separate development and does not establish a delivery schedule for OpenAI.
Readers can also watch for evidence of deployment, such as company disclosures or further details about the hardware and where it will run. The source material says many of OpenAI’s other chip arrangements are scheduled for 2027 or later; it does not show that the reported Google chips are already in use at scale. Nothing in the report changes ChatGPT for users today, and any effect on service performance or pricing remains unknown.
Key Questions
Has OpenAI confirmed that it will buy Google TPUs?
No. The Information and Bloomberg reported the plan, but neither OpenAI nor Google has confirmed a purchase in the source material.
What are Google TPUs?
TPUs, or tensor processing units, are AI chips designed by Google. The company uses them in its own data centers and offers customers access through Google Cloud; it is also expanding sales to selected customers for use in their own data centers.
Does this mean OpenAI is leaving Nvidia?
No. OpenAI has announced arrangements involving Nvidia and several other chip suppliers. The reports point to a possible additional supplier, not an announced end to its relationship with Nvidia.
Could Google’s chips make ChatGPT cheaper or faster?
That is not known. The reports provide no confirmed purchase terms, deployment details or evidence of an effect on ChatGPT’s price or performance.
When would OpenAI receive the chips?
No delivery date has been reported. Google’s separate plan to offer TPUs through Oracle from 2027 does not confirm when or how OpenAI might access them.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
