Google is in talks with Samsung to take on a manufacturing role in its next-generation AI chip, according to reporting by Qianer Liu at The Information. The chip in question is codenamed "Icefish" — Google's 10th-generation Tensor Processing Unit, the custom silicon the company uses to power its AI workloads.
According to The Information, Samsung would manufacture the memory input-output die, a component that handles how the chip communicates with memory. The computing engine — the core of the chip — would continue to be built by TSMC, the dominant Taiwanese chipmaker that currently handles production for most of the world's leading AI chips.
The reported rationale is capacity. TSMC's manufacturing lines are under intense pressure as demand for AI chips from companies like Nvidia, Apple, and AMD all compete for the same advanced production slots. By splitting Icefish's production between the two foundries, Google could secure supply while reducing its dependence on any single manufacturer.
The talks are still ongoing, according to The Information, and no deal has been confirmed. Samsung has long trailed TSMC in cutting-edge chip manufacturing but has been investing heavily to close the gap and win back major customers.
If the arrangement goes ahead, it would mark a meaningful shift in how Google manages its AI hardware supply chain — and signal that the scramble for chip-making capacity is pushing even the biggest tech companies to spread their bets across multiple manufacturers.