The materials used for Google's TPU have become increasingly expensive year by year. The production capacity is insufficient, and even Amazon's orders have been pushed back.
The production capacity is not enough. Even Amazon's orders have been postponed.
This is what a manufacturer that supplies copper-clad boards to Google has been doing in the past six months. The volume for Google must be prioritized. Most of the orders from Amazon can only be pushed aside. Currently, the share is very small.
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If it were two or three years ago, it would be hard to imagine that anyone would complain about too many orders from Amazon.
The reason is not complicated. Google's TPU has been evolving generation by generation, and the materials used in PCBs have also been improving step by step. The first to be in short supply are the highest-end materials such as copper clad laminate, copper foil, and fiberglass cloth.
Let's go through the numbers on this chain from the beginning.
Material generations are getting higher and higher.
Let's start with a basic concept.
In the industry, copper clad laminates are generally classified as M6, M7, M8, and M9. This classification system comes from Panasonic's Megtron series. The larger the number, the lower the signal loss, the higher the speed it can run, and the more expensive the material. For each upgrade of the AI server, the materials used basically need to be upgraded to the next level.
The line of Google is very clear.
TPU v7 will start mass production in 2024, mainly using M7 and M6. It has two core board cards, OAM is the module board for installing acceleration chips, and UBB is the base board that connects multiple OAMs together. Both are high multilayer boards, not including HDI, with different layer counts and structures, but the material grades are the same.
TPU v8 will start volume production in April this year, mainly using M8 and M6. When disassembled, the main signal layer uses M8, and the power layer uses M7. In a 24-layer structure, the core board uses a mixture of M8 and M6 because the signal layer usually has a power layer below it.
Then comes TPU v9, which is expected to be launched in the third quarter of 2027, using the M9-M7 combination scheme.
The switchboard cards in the cabinet are the same. The signal layer uses M8, and the power layer uses a mixture of M6 and ordinary FR4.
There is one direction worth noting. Google's project did not use HDI but took the high multilayer route. The two routes have different requirements for PCB manufacturers. High multilayer relies on lamination and alignment, and the more layers, the harder it is to do; HDI relies on laser drilling and fine lines.
Working for Google is about who can stack the layers and still maintain stable yield.
The glass fiber cloth used for M8 is available in two specifications, Low DK and the second generation. The second generation cloth has been in high demand in the electronic fabric market all year round. The copper foil uses HVLP3, which is the third-generation copper in the industry.
HVLP is simply ultra-low profile copper foil. The smoother the surface, the less loss during high-speed signal transmission; the higher the generation, the smoother the surface, and the harder it is to do.
M9 has not yet been officially mass-produced and is being sent samples to various customers. It requires fourth-generation copper.
For each upgrade of TPU, the materials used will increase one level.
Who supplies Google?
The main PCB suppliers for Google's V8 project are TTM and HD. In Panasonic's material system, HD's share is approximately 30%, and TTM takes up more. SN is not a major supplier.
Shenghong entered later.
It started to enter in 2025 and mainly uses materials from Taigu, which was exactly when Panasonic's production capacity was insufficient, and Google also started to look for Taigu as a supplier. Shenghong entered Google's supply chain by using Taigu's materials, and actual shipments began in the second half of 2025.
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This incident illustrates a pattern in the competition of high-end PCBs. Often, it starts with the competition of materials. The company with the larger production capacity of copper-clad laminate can more easily enter the market. When Panasonic's production capacity tightens, Toppan's share increases, and Shenghong, which follows Toppan's lead, also gets a chance to enter the market.
Looking at copper-clad laminates.
This manufacturer supplies Google with products ranging from M6 to M8. In Google's supply chain, its main competitor is Taiwan's Toppan, which is also known as EMC.
Lianmao may still be in the sample stage, and no official product launch has been heard of yet. If it passes the certification later, Google will have another Taiwanese supplier for copper-clad laminates. This is just a possibility at present.
From the perspective of materials, the copper-clad laminates currently used by Google are mainly sourced from Panasonic and Toppan.
The third-generation copper has a continuous increase in purchase volume.
The third-generation copper is the standard configuration for M8, and once Google's demand for it increases, the direct driver is the copper foil.
The same manufacturer supplying copper-clad laminates to Google had an average monthly purchase volume of 90 tons of HVLP3 copper foil from January to August. The trend has been upward, and in the latest month, it has reached 110 tons, which is over 20% higher than the average level.
What does 110 tons mean?
A double-sided copper-clad board using 18-micron copper foil requires approximately 200-210 grams of copper. Roughly calculated, 110 tons can produce about 500,000 such double-sided boards, which is only the monthly purchase volume of one manufacturer.
Converting to an amount can also give an approximate figure. Even if all are calculated at the price of DFU, which is $24-25 per kilogram, 110 tons per month is $264,000 to $275,000, which is still the cheapest price among the three suppliers.
The suppliers are three: Japan's Fukuda, Luxembourg's CFL, and DFU.
The earliest to use was Fukuda. DFU started to introduce it this year, but it has now become the main supplier, with a purchase share of 60%.
The third-generation copper is currently mainly used in M8 products, so every change of supplier requires a re-evaluation to ensure the quality is on par with Fukuda.
Mitsui's third-generation copper has not been purchased. One reason is that the first to obtain certification was Fukuda, and the other is that Mitsui's price does not have a significant advantage, and the production capacity of all manufacturers is currently quite tight.
The three suppliers have tight production capacities.
Prices are generally rising every month.
The price of DFU's third-generation copper, calculated at the 18-micron specification, is approximately $24-25 per kilogram, which is $24,000 to $25,000 per ton.
This price is still changing, and it has generally increased every month recently.
The 12-micron copper foil is thinner and has the highest price. The thinner the copper foil, the better it is for making fine circuits, and the more prone it is to problems during production, making the yield more difficult to control. The price naturally goes up.
Among the three, DFU is the cheapest. CFL in Luxembourg's price is about 30% higher than it, and Fukuda's price is about 10% higher than it.
The price is low, and the quality can match Fukuda. It's not surprising that DFU has a 60% purchase share.
Why is the price still rising?
There is still a shortage of third-generation copper in the market. There are only a few manufacturers with stable supply and qualified quality. There are particularly few in China.
There was also an incident. DFU wanted to take over this copper foil factory in Luxembourg last year. According to public reports, the acquisition was blocked, so currently DFU and CFL are still each supplying separately.
Using third-generation copper is not only by Google. Amazon and some CSP customers in China have also used it up to the third-generation copper. The demand has concentrated on the same specification, and the supply expansion speed cannot keep up, so the price has continued to rise.
For Google, push aside Amazon.
The production capacity is limited. This manufacturer has prioritized Google and Amazon, and has rejected most of their orders in the past six months. Currently, its share is very small. The main copper clad laminate suppliers for Amazon at present are Taihong and Taiyao.
A copper clad laminate factory is willing to push Amazon's orders out. This at least indicates two things. First, the production capacity for high-end copper clad laminates is indeed tight. Second, the demand from Google has become so large that it requires other customers to make room for it.
The materials for Amazon's new projects are also constantly being upgraded.
The UBB board of T3 has 26 layers and uses EMC's 892K, which belongs to the M8 grade. Copper foil is paired with HVLP4. This board is not supplied by this manufacturer.
The OAM board has 24 layers and uses M6. This manufacturer has obtained a portion of the share. At the same time, Panasonic, Taihong and Sangyin are also supplying. Sangyin's M6 material has entered the supply system.
Currently, the manufacturer supplies mainly Trainium 2 products to Amazon.
When will the fourth-generation copper arrive?
According to the current situation, the fourth-generation copper is only used in M9-grade products.
Google's current plan, regardless of using Panasonic or EMC's materials, will only reach the third-generation copper at most. It has not introduced the fourth-generation copper yet. Amazon and domestic CSPs have the highest level of third-generation copper. NVIDIA's M8 is not on the Panasonic supply chain, and the material selection may be different.
M9 is still in sample and prototype testing and has not been officially mass-produced.
For this Google line, when the fourth-generation copper will be introduced depends on TPU v9. v9 is expected to be launched in the third quarter of 2027, using a material scheme of M9 combined with M7. At that time, the copper foil will have to be raised to a higher grade.
The third-generation copper has not been supplied yet. The surface of the fourth-generation copper is even smoother, and the threshold will be even higher. The manufacturers that can achieve stable mass production are likely to be even fewer.
There is a discrepancy in the口径 here, which needs to be explained separately. The copper foil given for the UBB board of T3 in the previous Amazon case was HVLP4, which is inconsistent with the statement that the fourth-generation copper is only used in M9. This might be due to different project standards, or Amazon might have moved forward earlier. It is currently impossible to confirm.
Domestic manufacturers
Regarding the copper foil segment, DeFu has gone the furthest at this manufacturer that supplies copper-clad boards to Google. DeFu only started to introduce this in the current year and has already obtained 60% of the third-generation copper procurement share.
Its advantages are quite straightforward. The price is about 10% lower than that of Japanese Fuso, and about 30% lower than that of Luxembourg-based CFL. The quality can also be compared with Fuso.
However, it should also be noted that there are still very few domestic manufacturers capable of providing stable third-generation copper. This is one of the reasons for the continuous shortage of third-generation copper.
For the copper-clad board segment, Sinopec started from M6. For Amazon's T3's OAM board, Sinopec's M6 material has already entered the supply system and is supplied together with Panasonic and Taigu. For M8, Google and Amazon mainly use Panasonic, Taigu and Taoyao.
For the PCB segment, Huilei holds about 30% of the share in Google's Panasonic material system. Shenghong entered the Google V8 project by leveraging Taigu's materials. Shenzhen Nanqiao Circuit is not a major supplier for Google.
Looking further up, M9 and fourth-generation copper are still in the sample submission stage. Whoever can successfully complete the mass production first will see the share change in the next round.