Anthropic, the company behind the Claude chatbot, is reportedly in talks with Samsung Electronics to develop and manufacture its own custom AI chips, according to multiple reports citing The Information.
According to Yahoo Finance's summary of The Information's reporting, the discussions involve Samsung's advanced 2-nanometer manufacturing process, with Samsung's foundry business positioned to produce the chips. Businesskorea framed the move as Anthropic pursuing in-house silicon to compete with, and reduce its dependence on, Nvidia — whose processors currently dominate AI computing.
The scale of the company involved is notable. According to MSN's report, Anthropic is the world's most valuable non-public AI startup, with a valuation cited at $965 billion.
Importantly, nothing is confirmed. Coverage across outlets consistently describes the talks as exploratory, using words like "weighing," "exploring" and "reportedly." CNBC's Jim Cramer struck a cautious note, saying, according to Benzinga, "We Really Don't Have Anything But a Rumor."
Even as a rumor, it moved markets. According to finance.biggo.com, the report of Anthropic's in-house chip ambitions rattled U.S. semiconductor stocks, with SanDisk plunging 12% and helping drag the Nasdaq 100 down more than 1%.
The story fits a broader industry pattern. As WION explained, the AI race is no longer only about building smarter models — it is increasingly a battle over the chips that power them. Major AI players have been designing custom silicon to cut costs and loosen their reliance on Nvidia's expensive, supply-constrained GPUs.
Why it matters: if a company Anthropic's size starts building its own chips, it signals that control over hardware — not just software — is becoming central to who leads the AI industry, with real consequences for chipmakers' stock prices.