TSMC approves up to $500M each in OpenAI, Anthropic

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. ↗ 1.63%, the world's largest contract chipmaker, plans to buy into two of its largest end customers. On Tuesday, November 10, its board approved investments of up to US$500 million each in Anthropic and OpenAI, according to the company's board resolutions filed with the SEC. The two deals differ in structure. TSMC would buy Anthropic common shares at the price set in Anthropic's initial public offering, and it would buy preferred stock in OpenAI Group PBC.stocktitan.net

At the same meeting, the board approved third-quarter results, a record quarterly dividend, roughly US$40.9 billion in capital spending, and up to US$500 million to set up a new investment company. That company will make strategic investments in the semiconductor industry and its wider ecosystem, the filing said.stocktitan.net

Tied to Anthropic's IPO

The Anthropic purchase is linked to the AI lab's U.S. listing. On the same day, Reuters reported that Anthropic is seeking a valuation of up to $1.02 trillion and plans to raise up to $64.4 billion with a price range of $70 to $78 a share. Anthropic also plans a separate $26 billion private placement with cornerstone investors. TSMC is one of them, alongside Nvidia ↘ 5.70%, Advanced Micro Devices ↗ 2.70%, Broadcom ↗ 2.38%, Micron ↘ 3.18%, Microsoft ↘ 0.83% and Alphabet's ↘ 0.21% Google. Shares are expected to trade on the Nasdaq ↘ 0.10%.reuters.com

The announcement left several details open. TSMC has not said how many shares it will buy, what stake it will hold, or when the deals will close. Taiwan's Business Next noted that TSMC has rarely taken direct stakes in AI model developers. Its past direct investments have mostly been in chip-industry companies, such as a stake of about 5% in ASML ↘ 0.35% in 2012 and a stake in Arm ↘ 2.29% bought at its 2023 IPO.udn.com+1

Dividend and spending

TSMC reported third-quarter revenue of NT$1,494.24 billion, net income of NT$763.06 billion, and diluted earnings of NT$29.43 per share. The NT$9 cash dividend is up from NT$7 the previous quarter. It will be paid on April 8, 2027, and shares go ex-dividend on March 11, 2027. The capital spending will go mainly to advanced process and packaging capacity, fab construction, and 2027 research and development.mirrordaily.news+1

A cooling AI market

The investments come as investor enthusiasm for AI is fading. Anthropic's IPO target is far below the roughly $2 trillion valuation once expected, and the Nasdaq recently posted its steepest one-day drop in 19 months. TSMC is still growing fast. October revenue rose 60% from a year earlier, and its U.S.-listed shares were little changed in premarket trading Tuesday. On the same day, SoftBank Group, OpenAI's largest outside backer, reported its first quarterly loss in nearly two years. Barron's described the two companies' results as showing a gap between AI's winners and losers.barrons.com+1