Google Cloud Secures OpenAI Deal as Pichai Balances Opportunity and Competitive Risk
In a move that blurs the line between collaboration and competition, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed that OpenAI has become one of Google Cloud’s newest partners. Speaking during Alphabet’s Q2 2025 earnings call, Pichai described the development as a natural extension of Google Cloud’s open infrastructure model.
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with OpenAI,” he stated. “Google Cloud has always prioritized supporting groundbreaking work in AI, whether from startups or major labs. This is another step in that journey.”
The timing of the announcement is notable. Google and OpenAI are two of the most influential forces in today’s AI race, with both pushing aggressive roadmaps across large language models, search innovation, and multimodal interfaces. Analysts are already questioning whether this deal helps Google in the long run—or hands OpenAI a tactical edge.
With GPU availability still limited worldwide, OpenAI’s decision to augment its Microsoft-based infrastructure with Google Cloud—and Oracle—is seen as a move to secure redundant, high-performance compute power. In return, Google gains a marquee client for its cloud platform, which earned $13.6 billion this past quarter, up from $10.3 billion a year ago.
Alphabet’s broader AI push continues across multiple fronts. Its Gemini chatbot ecosystem now reaches 450 million users monthly, while AI Overviews reports over 2 billion monthly engagements. However, monetization models for these tools remain experimental, and their overlap with Search has raised new questions about cannibalization.
As Alphabet plans to spend $10 billion more on AI infrastructure this year, partnerships like the one with OpenAI will define the company’s delicate balance between enabling AI progress—and controlling who benefits from it.
