Google Is Reportedly A Major Intel Foundry Customer, Will Use EMIB Advanced Packaging For Next-Gen TPU

Google has reportedly become a major customer of Intel Foundry, with plans to use Intel's EMIB advanced packaging technology for its next-generation TPUv8e AI chip — a significant win for Intel as it fights to establish itself in the contract chipmaking business.

According to Taiwan's Commercial Times, Google's TPUv8e will leverage Intel's Embedded Multi-Interconnect Bridge technology rather than the TSMC CoWoS packaging used in Google's current TPU8i and TPU8t chips. EMIB offers advantages in cost and scalability compared to TSMC's 2.5D packaging solutions, potentially giving Google more design flexibility at lower expense.

The TPUv8e will feature a main compute die designed by Google itself, with MediaTek handling I/O and back-end design. A separate variant, the TPUv8p, will rely on Broadcom for compute, I/O, and back-end design using TSMC's CoWoS/SoCI packaging — indicating Google is hedging its foundry bets between Intel and TSMC.

The partnership is a major confidence signal for Intel Foundry. Intel has also reportedly secured Tesla as a customer for its 14A process node, with Tesla leveraging the technology at its TeraFab facility. These wins suggest Intel's foundry business is gaining traction after years of struggling to attract major external customers.

Both TPUv8e and TPUv8p are expected in Q4 2027, with announcements likely by late 2026 or early 2027. Google has not confirmed the Intel partnership, and Intel has stated it will not name customers unless they choose to announce the relationship themselves.

The development comes as the AI chip supply chain faces intense pressure. Training chips requiring advanced manufacturing and complex packaging have significantly increased testing intensity, and TSMC's CoWoS capacity remains constrained. EMIB's versatility could help alleviate the packaging bottleneck that has limited AI chip production.

What This Means For You: Google choosing Intel Foundry signals that the AI chip supply chain is diversifying beyond TSMC, which could eventually reduce costs and improve availability for AI infrastructure across the industry. If you invest in tech stocks, watch Intel's foundry momentum — each major customer win validates their turnaround strategy. For the broader economy, a competitive foundry market means AI compute costs could stabilize faster than current projections suggest, accelerating AI adoption across industries that affect your daily life.