From left, a Google TPU, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan and Google Cloud chief Thomas Kurian. Photos via Getty, Google and YouTube.
Google executives have extensively discussed dropping Broadcom as a supplier of artificial intelligence chips as early as 2027, according to a person with direct knowledge of the effort. In that scenario, Google would fully design the chips, known as tensor processing units, in-house, the person said.
The move could help Google save billions of dollars in costs annually as it invests heavily in AI development, which is especially pricey compared to other types of computing. Google executives set a goal earlier this year to ditch Broadcom following a monthslong standoff between the companies over the price Broadcom was charging for the TPU chips, the person said.