#AnthropicTapsSamsungForAIchips

This story just broke quietly, but it’s going to shake up the entire AI hardware ecosystem. Here’s what happened and why you should care. Anthropic, the company that developed the AI models behind Claude, is starting development on its own custom AI chips for inference.

The startup is actively engaged in talks with Samsung Electronics about potentially partnering to use the Korean chip giant’s manufacturing processes, specifically its 2nm technology and advanced packaging solutions.

It’s still early days, so there’s no chip design yet or a specific timeline for mass production. But the intention is clear. To show they are serious, Anthropic recently hired Clive Chan this month – a key team member behind OpenAI’s original custom AI chip initiative, Project Cobalt (which is now integrated into Microsoft Azure). The rationale for this strategic pivot is the same for all major AI companies: economics.

For every inference query performed on Claude, GPT, or Google’s Gemini, customers are using Nvidia’s GPUs at about $2 to $3 per hour per chip.

As AI usage scales to billions of queries per day, those costs add up astronomically. Google’s TPUs deliver Gemini inference at 60% the cost of equivalent Nvidia chips. Amazon’s Trainium chips offer similar savings, and OpenAI’s Cobalt project reportedly saves the company hundreds of millions each year.

The immense economic advantage being gained by competitors is forcing Anthropic to explore its options. The partnership with Samsung makes strategic sense because Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) - the dominant chip manufacturer for Apple, Nvidia, AMD, and pretty much everyone else in the AI space - faces intense competition for advanced node capacity. Samsung's 2nm and advanced packaging are highly competitive alternatives, and a collaboration with Anthropic offers both companies unique benefits.

Anthropic gains access to cutting-edge manufacturing without directly competing with Nvidia for limited TSMC slots.

Samsung, in turn, secures a prominent AI company as an anchor customer for its advanced nodes at a critical time, showcasing its competitive edge. This move clearly signals a shift in the AI landscape: the competition isn't just about model capabilities anymore; it's about control of the entire infrastructure, from models to hardware. As AI model companies develop their own inference chips, it’s likely to chip away at Nvidia's GPU market share at the margins. This is particularly relevant for Nvidia’s GPU business in the long run, as inference is the fastest-growing segment of AI computing.

For Samsung, which saw its stock drop 5% in the recent semiconductor selloff, the potential to become the manufacturing partner for a major AI player like Anthropic is a significant boost.

AI Is Now a Full-Blown Infrastructure War. This Move Signals It. With Anthropic entering the fray of custom AI chip development via Samsung, building on OpenAI’s earlier efforts, do you think AI model companies developing proprietary inference chips will ultimately diminish Nvidia’s dominance at the margins?

Furthermore, does this development make Samsung a more appealing investment opportunity given the recent decline in the semiconductor market?

‍#GateSquare #AI @Gate_Square