In a leaked internal memo first reported on January 31, 2026, it was revealed that Google is running a massive, company-wide initiative code-named Project EAT.
The project is a “full-stack” reset of Google’s AI strategy. It aims to unify everything from custom silicon design to data center infrastructure and developer tools into a single, cohesive operating plan through 2026.
1. What is “Project EAT”?
The name is a reference to the tech industry practice of “eating your own dog food” (dogfooding)—using your own products internally to refine them before public release.
- The Vision: To transform Google into an “AI-powered workplace” where every employee is supercharged by advanced AI tools.
- The Leader: The project is led by Amin Vahdat, a senior vice president and company veteran who heads the AI and Infrastructure unit (internally abbreviated as AI2).
- The Goal: To dramatically increase productivity, improve code quality, and reduce “toil” (repetitive, low-value work) across the organization.
2. The Three Pillars of the Reset
Project EAT isn’t just about internal productivity; it is a strategic reorganization to compete with Microsoft, AWS, and NVIDIA.
| Pillar | Objective |
| Custom Silicon | Accelerate TPU (Tensor Processing Unit) roadmaps to make them a credible, more efficient alternative to NVIDIA’s dominant GPUs. |
| Infrastructure | Redesign data center layouts and cooling systems to drop the total cost of AI at scale while managing massive power demands. |
| Developer Tools | Standardize AI tools across engineering and product management to ensure that research breakthroughs (like Gemini) turn into products faster. |
3. Early Results & Pilot Programs
Leaked documents highlight that a 12-week “seed stage” focused on state-of-the-art coding assistance tools within the AI2 unit showed “promising signs.”
- Developer Velocity: Engineers using these AI-powered tools saw a significant boost in the speed of shipping code.
- Standardization: Google is moving away from team-level autonomy toward standardized AI practices to mitigate the risks of a rapidly evolving external AI landscape.
- Cloud Integration: The initiative will eventually trickle down to Google Cloud Platform (GCP), offering enterprise customers managed services that abstract away the complexity of managing large AI clusters.
4. Why Now? The Competitive Pressure
The timing of Project EAT reflects a sense of urgency within Google’s leadership.
- The NVIDIA Dependency: Google wants to break its reliance on expensive third-party GPUs for its own AI development.
- The “Coherent Platform” Goal: By unifying the hardware (TPUs) and the software (JAX/TensorFlow), Google hopes to offer a cleaner path for developers than the current fragmented ecosystem.
Conclusion: A Culture Shift
Project EAT represents one of the most ambitious internal reorganizations in Google’s history. While the move aims for higher efficiency and better work-life balance through AI automation, it also signals a shift toward more centralized coordination, which may reduce the autonomy individual teams have traditionally enjoyed. As CEO Sundar Pichai reportedly emphasized, with rivals aggressively adopting AI internally, Google has no choice but to do the same.
