Google Orders 3 Million AI Chips from Intel

According to The Information, corroborated by Reuters and Bloomberg, Google has placed an order with Intel to manufacture more than 3 million tensor processing units (TPUs) for production in 2028. Reuters reported that Intel shares rose more than 9% in early trading, while some outlets reported premarket gains above 13%. Reuters said Intel declined to comment, that Alphabet and Nvidia did not immediately respond, and that it could not independently verify The Information's account.

The order is for Google-designed TPUs, with Intel acting as contract manufacturer rather than selling its own branded chips. The Information and follow-on coverage report that Google tested Intel's advanced packaging for months; that technology stitches multiple chip dies and high-bandwidth memory into a single module. Reporting also says Nvidia is evaluating whether Intel's packaging could build a processor that fuses four GPU dies into one unit for its next-generation Feynman architecture, though Nvidia has not placed an order, per Reuters and Quartz.

Outlets frame the story against a capacity crunch at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which fabricates most leading-edge AI silicon. Reuters quoted eMarketer analyst Jacob Bourne calling the development "evidence that AI's biggest players are racing to diversify a supply chain still heavily concentrated in TSMC." Morgan Stanley has separately forecast Google's TPU output at roughly 5 million units in 2027 and 7 million in 2028, which would make the reported 3-million-unit Intel order a sizable slice of that buildout.

A multi-million-unit TPU run would be a significant external win for Intel Foundry, which has been positioned as a TSMC alternative amid investments from the US government, SoftBank, and Nvidia. It would also give Google a second leading-edge production line for hardware central to training and serving its models.

• •confirmations or denials from Intel, Alphabet, or Nvidia in filings or official statements
• •yield and packaging milestones tied to the 2028 delivery window
• •how TSMC capacity guidance and customer allocations shift in earnings commentary
• •additional third-party orders that would signal broader adoption of Intel packaging for high-end AI chips

Editorial analysis: Teams reliant on large-scale accelerators will watch supply diversification closely, since multiple contract manufacturers change procurement lead times, risk profiles, and capacity planning. Initial reports should be treated as an early signal rather than a finalized supply contract until companies confirm.