Google may be helping ChatGPT-maker OpenAI to reduce its dependency on Nvidia for AI chips

OpenAI has started using Google’s artificial intelligence chips to power its

ChatGPT

and other products, a report claims. A report by the news agency Reuters cited a source familiar with the development who informed about this move, which suggests that the Microsoft-backed AI startup wants to bring diversification in its chip suppliers beyond

Nvidia

. The ChatGPT maker is recognised as one of the largest purchasers of Nvidia’s graphics processing units (GPUs). OpenAI uses these AI chips for both model training and inference computing, which involves an AI model applying its knowledge to new information for predictions or decisions.Earlier this month, Reuters reported that OpenAI intended to add Google’s Cloud service to meet its increasing demand for computing capacity. This collaboration represents a notable partnership between two prominent competitors within the AI sector.

What does this move by OpenAI mean for Google

As per the Reuters report, Google may have agreed to this OpenAI deal as it seems to expand external access to its proprietary

tensor processing units

(TPUs), which were previously used mostly for internal operations.

This shift has attracted clients such as Apple, along with startups like Anthropic and Safe Superintelligence, both founded by former OpenAI executives and seen as competitors to ChatGPT, the report adds.OpenAI’s decision to lease Google’s TPUs marks its first significant use of non-NVIDIA chips and reflects a move away from depending entirely on Microsoft’s data centres, its main backer, the report adds.According to The Information, which first reported this move, claims that this development could position TPUs as a more cost-effective alternative to Nvidia’s GPUs. The report also noted that OpenAI is using the TPUs via Google Cloud to help reduce inference costs. However, Google, which is a rival in the AI space, is not offering its most advanced TPU models to OpenAI, a Google Cloud employee told The Information.Adding OpenAI as a customer underscores how Google is leveraging its AI ecosystem, starting from hardware to software, to expand its cloud business. Both companies are yet to make official announcements about this reported deal.