Anthropic signs chip supply deals with Samsung, SK Hynix

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei confirmed on Friday that the AI company has signed supply agreements with SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, formalizing the startup's push to develop its own custom semiconductors. The announcements came during the San Francisco AI Summit, convened alongside South Korean President Lee Jae-myung's visit to Silicon Valley on July 24–25.kucoin+2

Deals Unveiled at Presidential Summit

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won appeared on stage with Amodei at the summit, where the chip supply request was disclosed publicly for the first time. Bloomberg reported on Thursday that Samsung and SK Hynix were preparing to ink agreements involving "very large" sums with leading U.S. technology firms, including long-term memory chip supply contracts, strategic investment partnerships, and memorandums of understanding. A senior South Korean presidential official confirmed the deals ahead of the announcements but declined to disclose their value.keia+3

The agreements center on advanced High Bandwidth Memory chips, the critical hardware powering AI data centers and next-generation GPUs. Anthropic had already designated Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron ↘ 6.99% as "strategic infrastructure partners" when the three memory giants invested in the company's $65 billion Series H funding round in May, which valued Anthropic at $965 billion.koreajoongangdaily+2

Custom Chip Ambitions Take Shape

The supply deals mark the clearest step yet in Anthropic's evolution from chip buyer to chip designer. Reuters first reported in April that the company was exploring the possibility of building its own semiconductors, though the effort was then described as preliminary with no dedicated team in place. By early July, The Information reported that Anthropic was in discussions with Samsung's foundry division to manufacture a custom AI chip using its 2-nanometer process technology.reuters+3

Broader Compute Strategy

The semiconductor push fits within Anthropic's wider effort to secure compute self-sufficiency. In November 2025, the company announced a $50 billion plan to build custom data centers in Texas and New York in partnership with Fluidstack, with facilities coming online throughout 2026. It also holds long-term agreements for access to roughly 3.5 gigawatts of TPU-based compute from Google Alphabet Inc. ↗ 0.24% and Broadcom ↘ 2.69% starting in 2027, as well as chip access through Amazon Amazon.com, Inc. ↘ 0.66%.reuters+3

"It is remarkable for an AI developer to pursue its own chip ambitions," Chey told attendees at the summit, underscoring how Anthropic's trajectory has blurred the line between AI software company and hardware player.keia