Google, Verizon strike $1 billion deal to boost AI infrastructure

Google and Verizon have signed a $1 billion deal in the latest technological push to build out high-capacity data connectivity for enterprise and hyperscale AI clients.

The news was announced during Verizon’s second-quarter post-earnings conference.

Verizon CEO Dan Schulman said on Friday that the company has secured a deal with Google to provide dark fiber connectivity for the search engine giant's data centers.

"We have other deals that we expect to announce by year end that, taken together are expected to be worth multiple billions of dollars in revenue over the next several years," Schulman said on Verizon's post-earnings call.

The partnership will focus on expanding technology collaboration between Google and Verizon as the companies strengthen their digital services and infrastructure efforts.

The agreement marks a key step in Verizon’s strategy to monetize its wireline and fiber footprint by supporting the massive data throughput required by modern AI workloads.

Shares of Verizon traded up over 3% following the announcement and positive earnings guidance revisions.

The announcement coincided with Verizon reporting Q2 2026 earnings, where free cash flow hit $6.4 billion, up 24.4% year-over-year, and total operating revenue reached $34.3 billion.