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Google just picked up the option to become one of the largest shareholders in a chipmaker most consumers have never heard of — and the number attached to that option is staggering. Marvell Technology has issued Google a warrant to purchase up to 58.97 million shares of its common stock, a stake worth roughly $12.2 billion at the warrant's set exercise price, according to a securities filing Marvell submitted Wednesday.

A Warrant Tied to a Bigger Partnership

The warrant, which Marvell said it formally issued to Google on Tuesday, isn't a standalone financial maneuver — it's woven directly into an expanded commercial partnership centered on custom semiconductors built for Google's artificial intelligence infrastructure. In other words, this isn't Google simply buying into Marvell's stock for investment purposes; it's a financial instrument tightly bound to a hardware supply relationship.

Who Signed Off

The filing carries the signature of Mark Casper, Marvell's executive vice president, chief legal officer and secretary, dated Wednesday — the formal paper trail behind an arrangement that had already been taking shape for weeks.

The Chip Deal Behind the Warrant

The roots of this arrangement trace back to July 29, when the two companies entered into a commercial agreement under which Marvell would develop custom silicon specifically for Google. That work spans a wide range of specialized chips: AI inference accelerators, storage and network controllers, memory interface controllers, and near-memory computing products — the kind of purpose-built hardware that increasingly underpins large-scale AI systems rather than general-purpose computing.

The Fine Print on Pricing and Timing

The warrant carries an exercise price of $206.58 per share, and Google can exercise it — subject to vesting requirements and other conditions — anytime through Aug. 18, 2033. Multiply that exercise price across the full 58.97 million shares covered by the warrant, and the maximum potential value comes out to approximately $12.2 billion, a figure that underscores just how much weight Google is placing on this chip partnership.

Not a Blank Check, But an Option

It's worth noting what this deal isn't: Google isn't handing over $12.2 billion upfront. Instead, the warrant simply grants the company the right to buy the shares at that specified price, provided the shares vest and Google decides to exercise the option down the road. Both the warrant itself and its exercise price remain subject to standard adjustments over time, the kind of built-in flexibility common in agreements stretching across nearly a decade.

What Happens Once Shares Vest

Once the shares do vest, they'll generally become freely tradeable, though subject to the usual securities laws, specific trading volume restrictions, and certain lock-up provisions that apply to the time-based portion of the shares. Google also secured customary registration rights covering those shares — standard protections that make it easier to eventually sell or transfer the stock once restrictions lift.