Anthropic has entered discussions with Samsung about a custom AI chip, The Information reported Thursday. The move comes one week after rival OpenAI announced its own custom inference processor, 'Jalapeño,' built with Broadcom.
Key facts
- Anthropic in talks with Samsung for custom AI chip
- Chip purpose and design remain undecided per The Information
- OpenAI announced Jalapeño chip with Broadcom last week
- Anthropic currently uses chips from Google, Amazon, Nvidia
- Reuters reported Anthropic chip exploration in April 2026
The talks remain exploratory. According to The Information, Anthropic has not yet decided on the chip's use case, how it will fit into server infrastructure, or its target performance. When reached by TechCrunch, Anthropic declined to comment on the Samsung partnership specifically, but stated that 'a diversified hardware stack that includes chips from Google, Amazon, and Nvidia will continue to be pivotal to its compute strategy.'
Why custom chips now
The exploration is a direct response to chip shortages and the industry's heavy reliance on Nvidia, which dominates AI training and inference hardware. According to the source, 'a number of AI companies have sought to develop custom chips — both as a way to create unique hardware for specific compute tasks and to gain a certain amount of independence from Nvidia.' Amazon and Google already offer custom TPUs. OpenAI's Jalapeño chip, announced last week, claims better performance-per-watt than competitors.
Samsung is already deeply embedded in the AI supply chain. It produces chips for Nvidia and is jointly building an AI chip factory in South Korea with the company. Samsung has also discussed partnering with Google on chip manufacturing.
Anthropic's existing hardware stack
Anthropic currently relies on chips from Google (TPUs), Amazon (Trainium, Inferentia), and Nvidia (GPUs). A custom chip would give Anthropic more control over its inference costs and architecture, potentially improving margins on its Claude models. However, the company has not disclosed its chip budget or timeline.
Competitive dynamics
The timing is notable: OpenAI's Jalapeño chip, Anthropic's Samsung talks, and Google's recent TPU packaging deal with Intel all signal a broader shift toward vertical integration in AI hardware. Reuters previously reported in April that Anthropic was 'toying with the idea' of producing its own chips. The Samsung discussions suggest the company is moving beyond the exploratory phase.
Key Takeaways
- Anthropic is discussing a custom AI chip with Samsung, per The Information.
- The move follows OpenAI's Jalapeño chip and signals growing vertical integration in AI hardware.
What to watch
Watch for Anthropic's next quarterly compute spend disclosure — a sharp increase could indicate chip development costs. Also track whether OpenAI's Jalapeño chip enters production before Anthropic's Samsung partnership yields a tape-out.
Source: techcrunch.com
