Google's biggest event of the year, Google I/O 2026, has officially begun. The annual developers conference is taking place at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in California, with the keynote starting at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. BST) on Tuesday, May 19. Google CEO Sundar Pichai is delivering the keynote address, joined by Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis and other top executives. The two-day event is expected to be packed with major announcements that will set the tone for Google's products and services for the rest of the year.
Google-Blackstone Partnership for AI Cloud
Just hours before Google I/O, Google announced an AI Cloud business partnership with Blackstone Inc, aiming to compete with companies like CoreWeave. The project will rely on an initial $5 billion in equity capital from Blackstone, which will become the majority owner. Including leverage, the investment will be worth $25 billion. The goal is to have 500 megawatts of computing capacity by 2027. The data centers will run Google's homegrown AI chips called tensor processing units (TPUs), designed to develop and run AI models. Veteran Google executive Benjamin Treynor Sloss will become CEO of the new business.
Sundar Pichai Promises Big Reveals
Google CEO Sundar Pichai has promised significant announcements during the keynote, building anticipation for the event.
Googlebooks: Successor to Chromebooks
As part of last week's Android Show, Google unveiled Googlebooks as the next generation of laptops powered by its services. While no devices were announced, Googlebooks appear to be an Android-powered successor to Chromebooks that will heavily feature Gemini's AI capabilities. Google I/O may include more details about the company's plans for this newer desktop operating system.
Google Health Gets Major Update
Earlier this month, Google merged the Fitbit app into Google Health while launching the displayless Fitbit Air fitness tracker. These announcements clarified how Google plans to integrate Gemini into its health-tracking product. While I/O is unlikely to showcase more products tied to Google Health, the company might use the developer conference to demonstrate more ways Google Health is set up to integrate with other services. It could provide a larger look at how Google plans to offer AI coaching through Google Health.
How and Where to Watch Keynote Live
Google I/O 2026 takes place on May 19 and 20. The keynote begins on Tuesday, May 19, at 10:00 a.m. PT (10:30 p.m. IST) and may run for nearly two hours. Google will stream the keynote live via YouTube. The annual show comes a week after The Android Show, where Google gave a sneak peek into features coming to Android 17, including Gemini Intelligence and AirDrop capability. The company also teased the Googlebooks laptop line, noting that these will use premium materials built by partners Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo. Additionally, Google is rolling out end-to-end encryption for RCS messaging between Android and iPhone users.
