OpenAI reportedly plans to purchase Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOGL.US) TPU chips, expanding its computing power through multiple avenues.

OpenAI is reportedly interested in purchasing artificial intelligence (AI) computing chips from Alphabet Inc. Class C, a unit of Alphabet (GOOGL.US), according to a person familiar with the matter, as part of the ChatGPT developer's broader efforts to build out its AI infrastructure. The final terms of any deal remain unclear, said the person, who requested anonymity because the discussions are private. OpenAI and Alphabet Inc. Class C both declined to comment. The move reflects OpenAI's multi-pronged approach to rapidly expanding its AI computing power. The company has previously announced plans to begin using its own custom chips to power its AI models later this year. OpenAI is among a wave of tech companies developing their own AI chips in an attempt to break NVIDIA Corporation's (NVDA.US) dominance in the field. OpenAI's custom Jalapeno chip, developed in partnership with Broadcom Inc. (AVGO.US), was built with assistance from Alphabet Inc. Class C veterans. Richard Ho, who leads OpenAI's internal chip team, previously participated in the development of Alphabet Inc. Class C's tensor processing units (TPUs). Alphabet Inc. Class C began developing its TPUs more than a decade ago. Initially, these processors were used to accelerate the company's web search engine and improve efficiency. But the chips' value in handling AI tasks was quickly validated, and in recent years they have become an alternative to NVIDIA Corporation's highly sought-after graphics processing units (GPUs). Oracle Corporation (ORCL.US) also announced on Tuesday that it would offer TPUs through its cloud computing infrastructure. "The next generation of AI will require diverse computing capabilities," said Amin Vahdat, an Alphabet Inc. Class C executive, in a statement announcing the partnership.