Google and Intel revealed a broader multi-year collaboration on Thursday, with Google Cloud set to keep leveraging Intel's AI infrastructure and to further their joint processor development efforts. Google Cloud will employ Intel's Xeon processors, such as the newest Xeon 6 chips, for AI, cloud, and inference workloads. The company has relied on various Intel Xeon processors for many years.

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The partnership will also deepen the co-development of custom infrastructure processing units (IPUs), which speed up and handle data center operations by shifting tasks away from CPUs. This chip development initiative, launched in 2021, will concentrate on custom ASIC-based IPUs. Intel chose not to disclose any pricing details for the agreement.

This expanded collaboration arrives as the industry faces strong demand for CPUs. While GPUs are essential for creating and training AI models, CPUs play a vital role in operating AI models and within broader AI infrastructure. "AI is transforming how infrastructure is designed and expanded," stated Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan in a company announcement. "Scaling AI demands more than just accelerators—it requires balanced systems. CPUs and IPUs are key to providing the performance, efficiency, and flexibility that modern AI workloads need."

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In recent months, more firms have shifted attention toward CPUs due to an increasing shortage of these chips. SoftBank-owned Arm Holdings recently introduced the Arm AGI CPU, marking the first chip the semiconductor leader has manufactured independently, coinciding with a global CPU supply crunch.