Google reportedly discusses manufacturing part of next-generation “Icefish” chip with Samsung, The Information says

Alphabet’s Google is reportedly in discussions with Samsung Electronics to have the chipmaker manufacture part of a next-generation chip design nicknamed “Icefish,” according to a report from The Information on Thursday, citing two people familiar with the matter.

The report did not describe which specific component of the “Icefish” chip would be manufactured by Samsung, nor did it provide timelines, production volumes, or financial terms. It also did not indicate whether the conversations are at an early stage or close to a contract decision.

The Information’s reporting adds to a broader pattern in the technology industry, where companies that design their own chips often seek manufacturing partnerships to secure advanced process capacity and mitigate supply-chain risks. For large buyers, the ability to work with major foundry players can be an important lever when schedules and technology nodes shift.

Google has been steadily investing in custom silicon across its products and infrastructure, including AI-focused hardware and data-center systems. Custom chip development is often pursued to improve performance efficiency for workloads that run at massive scale, especially for machine-learning training and inference.

In parallel, the economics of chip projects can be sensitive to manufacturing yields, capacity availability, and the cost of using leading-edge manufacturing processes. By engaging a large contract manufacturer like Samsung, Google would potentially be positioning its future silicon plans to align with industrial capacity and process access.

Still, key details remain undisclosed in the report. It is not clear whether Google would use Samsung for wafer fabrication only, for packaging, or for another step in the production chain. The Information also did not state whether Samsung would be the sole manufacturing partner or one of multiple suppliers.

Investors may watch for further confirmation through Alphabet’s public disclosures, supplier announcements, or industry reporting that specifies where “Icefish” fits into Google’s hardware roadmap and whether any arrangement becomes more concrete.

For now, the reported discussions are best viewed as a announcement of how Google may be approaching future chip supply, but the lack of contract terms, scope, and timing limits what can be concluded about the chip’s eventual impact on product schedules or costs.