Google in Talks with Samsung to Make Chip Component

The Information reported that Alphabet's Google is in talks with Samsung Electronics to manufacture part of its next-generation AI tensor processing unit, codenamed Icefish, Reuters reported on June 11, 2026. Reuters, citing The Information and two people familiar with the matter, said TSMC would make the main compute portion while Samsung would produce a component that connects the compute die to memory using 2-nanometer process technology. The Information, via Reuters, also reported that Google is working with MediaTek on chip design and that mass production could be possible as early as 2028. Reuters said it could not independently verify the report; Samsung declined to comment and Alphabet did not immediately respond.

Per reporting in The Information and Reuters, the work is split between a main compute die (assigned to TSMC) and a memory-interface or interposer-like component slated for Samsung's 2-nanometer nodes. The story frames this as a multi-vendor manufacturing approach rather than a single-foundry build. Reuters also referenced earlier coverage that Google has discussed producing TPUs with Intel and has recently released new internal chips for training and inference.

Companies building custom AI accelerators routinely split complex designs across multiple foundries and fabs to manage capacity, mix process-node strengths, and diversify supply risk. Using a specialist foundry for the main compute die while using another for a memory-interface component aligns with patterns seen in high-performance chip supply chains.

Diversifying manufacturing partners matters because foundry capacity constraints at leading nodes have become a material bottleneck for the AI hardware supply chain. Samsung securing a role on a Google TPU program would mark a notable commercial win for Samsung's contract-manufacturing push at advanced nodes, following Reuters reporting that Samsung won a Tesla order and is considering a second Texas plant to expand 2-nanometer capacity.

For practitioners: follow verification and vendor confirmations, any published technical disclosures about Icefish partitioning, and capacity-timeline signals from Samsung, TSMC, and Intel. Also watch for supply agreements or public statements that clarify which die functions each foundry will deliver and whether mass production targets near 2028 hold.