Anthropic Joins the Race for Self-Developed AI Chips, Seeks Supply from SK Hynix

AI startup company Anthropic seems to be joining the race for self-developed chips. It is reported that the company has formally requested components from South Korean memory giant SK Hynix (SKHY-US) to support its self-developed semiconductors. This news was proactively disclosed by SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won at an AI industry event in San Francisco, where he had a dialogue with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and remarked that the company's ambition in the chip sector was 'noteworthy.' Prior to this, Anthropic had planned to invest $500 billion in building data centers and was reportedly exploring the possibility of designing its own chips. Analysts point out that directly requesting from supply chain vendors represents a shift from planning to actual execution. In fact, Anthropic's infrastructure layout can be traced back to November 2025, when the company announced a partnership with Fluidstack to invest $500 billion in building AI-computing dedicated data centers in Texas and New York, USA. By April 2026, Anthropic's self-developed chip plan surfaced, covering both Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) and Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). Against the backdrop of continuing global computing resource shortages, this move is seen as a key step in reducing dependence on external chip suppliers. Analysts note that this vertical integration path is not unfamiliar in Silicon Valley: Google (GOOGL-US) has its own TPUs, Amazon (AMZN-US) has launched Trainium, and Meta (META-US) has also heavily invested in customized hardware. In recent years, SK Group's strategic focus has clearly shifted to AI infrastructure and semiconductor R&D. Its subsidiary SK Hynix is a global leader in high-bandwidth memory (HBM), a critical component indispensable for large-scale AI model training. Notably, SK Hynix's relationship with Anthropic goes beyond just being a supplier. In May 2026, SK Hynix participated in Anthropic's Series H funding round alongside Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology (MU-US). Following this, on July 10, SK Hynix completed its NASDAQ listing with a market value of $26.5 billion, reflecting the market's high valuation of memory suppliers' core position in the AI supply chain. Choi Tae-won's remarks came shortly after SK Hynix's listing. During the same period, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung visited Silicon Valley and hosted an AI summit, during which multiple technical cooperation agreements with NVIDIA (NVDA-US), South Korean Naver, and SK Group were announced.