TSMC plans $1 billion investment in Anthropic and OpenAI

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. plans to invest $1 billion in Anthropic and OpenAI, according to Reuters. The chipmaker's board approved up to $500 million in OpenAI preferred stock reserved for large investors and another $500 million in Anthropic common shares at the latter's expected IPO price. The move would give TSMC direct stakes in two leading AI developers while its contract chipmaking business has profited from the AI data center buildout.

Planned investment details

The planned investment includes up to $500 million in OpenAI preferred stock reserved for large investors and $500 million to purchase Anthropic common shares at the latter's expected IPO price. Such an investment may give markets a shot of confidence as the artificial-intelligence trade shows signs of strain, The Wall Street Journal reported.

TSMC's manufacturing footprint

TSMC's chip fabrication plants physically produce the vast majority of Nvidia's chips designed for AI data center workloads. They also make most of Apple's custom chips used in iPhones, Mac laptops and desktops, plus Apple's planned AI computing server. Most of these fabs are located in Taiwan, but TSMC also operates fabs in Japan and China, has an expanding US manufacturing cluster in Arizona, and is building a new fab in Germany.

AI demand and profit

Ongoing demand for AI-related chips has enabled TSMC to report six consecutive quarters of record profit. The latest example is the company earning more than $23 billion in profit during the July through September 2026 quarter, according to Reuters. TSMC has plenty of money to spare on such a bet.

Circular financing concerns

Analysts warned that circular financing among investors, suppliers, and customers has made it difficult to evaluate real market demand for AI-related hardware and services, according to the Journal. Anthropic and OpenAI are both purchasing huge quantities of AI hardware manufactured by TSMC for their data center projects, so the announced investment fits into the broader trend of circular financing that has become common during the AI boom. Tech stocks have gyrated recently as investors have grown increasingly jittery. TSMC's planned investment also pales in comparison with deals from major US tech companies: Nvidia has invested $30 billion in OpenAI and $10 billion in Anthropic so far, in addition to putting tens of billions of dollars into many other AI and robotics companies.

Sources: Ars Technica