Google Cloud chief Thomas Kurian just supported what Nvidia said after Google TPU news wiped a billion from its market value
Who is Thomas Kurian
Thomas Kurian is an Indian American business executive and the chief executive officer of Google Cloud since 2019. In 2024, Gold House was selected due to its extensive experience in leadership, engineering, and enterprise relations.
Thomas Kurian supported Nvidia’s statement that the AI chip market is not a zero-sum game, pushing back against the narrative that Google’s in-house Tensor processing Units are an existential threat to Nvidia’s market dominance. Kurian’s comments followed news reports that Meta was considering buying Google’s chips, which led to a drop in Nvidia’s market value by billions of dollars in late November 2025.
The Nvidia Stock Drop
In late November 2025, news surfaced that Meta Platforms, a major Nvidia customer, was in talks to purchase Google’s custom AI chips to reduce its dependence on Nvidia. This report rattled investors, causing Nvidia’s shares to fall sharply, wiping out over $100 billion in market value on a single day.
Nvidia responded to the news with a statement asserting its continued leadership: “Nvidia is a generation ahead of the industry—it’s the only platform that runs every AI model and does it everywhere computing is done.”
Nvidia’s response to the Google-Meta Partnership
Nvidia pushed back against the narrative of Google having better chips, insisting that its GPUs remain a generation ahead of the industry, even as Google’s in-house AI chips gain momentum.
Nvidia is a generation ahead of the industry and the company said in a post after Google-Meta partnership news broke that we are delighted by Google’s success, and they have made great advances in AI, we continue to supply to Google
Main Key Insights
Complementary Technologies: Different chips and systems are optimized for different models and workloads. TPUs and Nvidia GPUs serve complementary purposes. They are not direct replacements for every task.
Continued Partnership: The relationship with Nvidia is a partnership. Google optimizes its models, like Gemini, for Nvidia GPUs. Google offers Nvidia’s accelerated computing products to its customers through the Google Cloud platform.
Market Growth: The AI market is expanding rapidly. This creates opportunities for all players, including Google’s custom chips and Nvidia’s GPUs.
Nvidia’s Stance: Nvidia said they were “delighted” by Google’s progress. Nvidia maintains its lead in the industry.
Thomas Kurian’s Position
In an interview at the Fortune Brainstorm AI event in December 2025, Kurian supported Nvidia’s view that the market is large enough for multiple players.
“Zero Sum” Fallacy: Kurian argued that the chip market is often framed incorrectly as a “zero-sum game”. He stated that the market’s growth creates opportunities for everyone.
Diverse Needs: He emphasized that various chips and systems are optimized for different models, with customer choice being key.
Partnership, Not Rivalry: Kurian described the relationship with Nvidia as collaborative. Google optimizes its AI models, such as Gemini, for Nvidia GPUs and ensures compatibility within its cloud platform.
Kurian downplayed the competitive threat of Google’s custom chips by framing the AI market as a non-zero-sum game. He highlighted the diverse needs of customers, aligning with Nvidia’s stance that both companies can succeed.
Recent Trends about Google cloud supported Google TPUs.
Google has been working on TPUs since 2014. Specialized silicon and energy efficiency are critical for AI infrastructure. This long-term approach provides customers with a diverse set of options. Options include custom Google hardware and Nvidia’s offerings. One example is the DGX GH200 AI supercomputer.