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TL;DR
The Information and Bloomberg report that OpenAI plans to buy Google’s tensor processing units, or TPUs, citing one person familiar with the matter each. Neither company has confirmed a purchase, and its price, scale and timing remain unknown. If it proceeds, the reported move would add another chip supplier as OpenAI expands beyond Nvidia.
OpenAI is reported to be planning a purchase of Google’s AI chips, according to The Information on October 27 and Bloomberg on October 28, but neither company has confirmed a deal. The reports, each citing one person familiar with the matter, point to a possible new supplier for OpenAI as it expands its computing capacity and seeks alternatives to relying heavily on Nvidia.
The Information and Bloomberg each cited one source familiar with the plan. Reuters, relaying The Information’s report, said financial terms and other details were not available. OpenAI declined to comment, and Google did not comment, according to the source material. The number and generation of chips, their cost, and any delivery schedule have not been disclosed.
There is evidence that OpenAI is working on Google’s technology, but it does not establish that a purchase has been agreed. An OpenAI careers listing dated October 20 sought a software engineer for TPU compilers, with responsibilities including optimizing its models for TPUs. A hiring notice indicates technical work; it is not a purchase order or confirmation of a deployment plan.
OpenAI’s TPU activity also has prior context. Reuters reported in June 2025 that OpenAI had begun renting Google TPUs through Google Cloud. OpenAI then told Reuters it was in early testing and had no active plans to deploy them at scale. On October 21, 2026, OpenAI said its frontier models would be available through Google Cloud. Those steps show commercial and technical contact between two AI competitors, but do not confirm the newly reported chip purchase.
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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A New Supplier in OpenAI’s Chip Mix
If the reported purchase goes ahead, it would add Google to a widening group of companies supplying chips or computing capacity to OpenAI. The source material lists announced arrangements involving Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom, Cerebras and Amazon, alongside the newly reported Google plan. These deals differ in form and maturity, so they should not be treated as equivalent shipments or as proof that OpenAI has stopped relying on Nvidia.
The potential change matters to the broader AI chip market because large buyers need computing capacity to train and run their models. A credible ability to use more than one supplier could give OpenAI additional options for capacity, scheduling and negotiation. That is a possible consequence, not a confirmed outcome: no disclosed contract terms show what OpenAI might pay or how much computing it would receive.
For customers and ChatGPT users, there is no reported immediate change. The source material says many of OpenAI’s other chip arrangements concern capacity expected in 2027 or later, and it gives no delivery date for Google TPUs. It is not known whether any future cost or performance effects would be passed on to users.
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Google Takes TPUs Beyond Its Data Centers
Google designed TPUs for its own data centers and made them available to cloud customers through Google Cloud. In 2026, it began offering a different route: delivering TPU systems for some customers to operate in their own data centers. On its April 29 earnings call, Google chief executive Sundar Pichai said the company would begin delivering the systems to a select group of customers as demand grew from AI labs, financial firms and high-performance computing users.
Google’s October 28 earnings call added evidence that it is building an external customer base. The company said nearly 100 customers use TPUs and named Anthropic and Apple. It also announced partnerships with Oracle and Crux AI. Oracle said on October 27 that it would offer Google TPUs through its cloud from 2027. This confirms Google’s broader commercial push, not a specific OpenAI order.
OpenAI’s reported interest comes amid a wider effort to arrange computing resources. The source material describes announced agreements or plans with Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom, Cerebras and Amazon, including large capacity figures. Those figures refer to different chips and arrangements, and should not be read as a common measure of delivered computing power. Google would be another potential supplier—and a distinctive one because it competes with OpenAI in AI services.
“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 April 29, 2026, earnings call
Deal Terms and Delivery Remain Unknown
No purchase has been confirmed by OpenAI or Google. The reports rely on one person familiar with the matter apiece, and the source material does not include a public contract or company announcement. The reports therefore remain reported plans, not proof that an agreement has been signed or that chips have been ordered.
The possible order’s size, price, TPU model, delivery date and deployment location are unknown. It is also unclear whether the chips would run in Google’s data centers, in OpenAI’s own facilities or through a cloud partner such as Oracle. The source material does not establish what share of OpenAI’s computing needs Google might serve, or whether the reported plan has changed since the articles were published.
Watch for a Confirmed Order
The next clear milestone would be a statement from OpenAI or Google, or reporting that provides details beyond the current accounts. Relevant information would include whether a deal was signed, the size and timing of any deployment, and where the TPUs would be hosted. Oracle’s planned TPU cloud offering from 2027 may also provide another route to access Google chips, but the source material does not say whether it is connected to OpenAI’s reported plan.
Until more information emerges, the confirmed developments are Google’s move to sell TPU systems beyond its own data centers, its announced customer and cloud partnerships, and OpenAI’s documented TPU-related hiring and earlier testing. The reported purchase remains unconfirmed, and no immediate change for ChatGPT users has been announced.
Key Questions
Has OpenAI confirmed it will buy Google TPUs?
No. The Information and Bloomberg reported the plan, each citing one person familiar with the matter. OpenAI declined to comment and Google did not comment, according to the source material.
What is known about the reported deal’s terms?
No price, chip quantity, TPU generation or delivery date has been disclosed. The reports also do not establish where the chips would be used.
Was OpenAI already testing Google TPUs?
Reuters reported in June 2025 that OpenAI had begun renting TPUs through Google Cloud. OpenAI told Reuters at the time that it was in early testing and had no active plans for deployment at scale. That earlier testing does not confirm a new purchase.
Would a Google TPU deal end OpenAI’s reliance on Nvidia?
There is no evidence of that. The source material describes OpenAI as having announced arrangements with several chip suppliers, including Nvidia, while the Google purchase remains unconfirmed. A new supplier could add options without replacing Nvidia.
Will the report change ChatGPT for users now?
No immediate user change has been announced. The timing and scale of any Google TPU deployment are unknown, as are any effects on ChatGPT’s price or performance.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
