Google Reportedly Orders Over 3 Million TPUs From Intel; Nvidia Also Evaluating Its 18A Process
nashnova research
Google has placed an order for over 3 million TPUs to be manufactured by Intel, while Nvidia is evaluating Intel's 18A process and advanced packaging — two major customers turning to Intel at once, the strongest sign yet that its foundry business has a real path forward.
How big is Google's order?
According to The Information, citing four people familiar with the matter, Google finalized the order after months of testing Intel's advanced packaging — commissioning Intel to produce over 3 million TPUs in 2028.
TPUs — Google's in-house AI chips, built to train and run AI models — are already being sold as compute access to Apple, Meta, and others.
This means → TPUs are no longer just an internal tool; they are a revenue product, and that is what is driving the surge in volume demand.
Morgan Stanley estimates Google's total TPU output at over 6 million units across 2027–2028. Intel's share covers roughly half of 2028 production.
What is Nvidia evaluating?
Nvidia has not yet placed an order, but is testing whether Intel's technology can produce a processor that merges four GPUs into a single package.
The work is tied to Nvidia's next-generation GPU architecture, codenamed "Feynman," expected to launch in 2028.
Reuters confirmed the evaluation spans both Intel's advanced packaging and its 18A process node.
In plain terms = Nvidia is still tasting the menu, but the fact that it walked into Intel's kitchen at all is itself a signal.
Why are both giants turning to Intel now?
The root cause: TSMC is running out of capacity. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has said Nvidia has surpassed Apple as TSMC's largest customer, with leading-edge wafer and advanced packaging lines fully loaded.
TSMC CEO C.C. Wei said last Thursday at the company's AGM that global chip supply will not keep up with AI-driven demand for years, even with continued U.S. expansion.
This means → Intel did not suddenly get stronger — TSMC's capacity ceiling is pushing customers out. Google and Nvidia need a second supplier.
How is the market reading this?
After the news broke, Intel shares rose more than 9% in U.S. pre-market trading.
This reflects a repricing of Intel's foundry business — from "years of losses and management turmoil" toward "real orders on the books."
In plain terms = the market had been applying a "slideware discount" to Intel's foundry story. With Google and Nvidia both showing up, that discount is narrowing.
市场有风险，内容仅供研究参考，不构成投资建议。