By Alex Sirois
Publication Date: 2026-10-02 12:45:00
Google builds its own AI chips, runs its own cloud, and controls its own models, yet still hands billions to NVIDIA every quarter. That uneasy relationship is starting to shift in ways that may not show up in revenue until…
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Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL | GOOGL Price Prediction) and NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) reported summer quarters showing the same AI boom from opposite sides. Google Cloud revenue grew 82% as Alphabet built out its TPU-powered stack. NVIDIA’s revenue rose 105.8% on demand from hyperscalers. Alphabet still buys NVIDIA systems while moving toward cheaper, more application-specific chips.
Google Cloud Surges While NVIDIA Sells Whole AI Factories
Google Cloud brought in $24.77B, driven by enterprise AI infrastructure. Sundar Pichai said Alphabet’s “differentiated, full stack approach to AI is delivering real, measurable value.” Gemini processes 22 billion API tokens per minute, and Google can route that work to its own chips.
Free cash flow came in at negative $5.86B, and Alphabet suspended buybacks.
The Data Center segment at NVIDIA reached $89.02B, and networking grew 138%. Customers are buying complete systems. Jensen Huang said: “Now, compute is revenue.”
| Business Driver | Alphabet | NVIDIA |
|---|---|---|
| AI Chip Approach | In-house TPUs plus NVIDIA GPUs | Vera Rubin, Vera CPU, CUDA |
| Q2 Capex | $44.92B | $2.68B |
| Q2 Free Cash… |
