Anthropic has made a supply request to SK hynix to manufacture its own semiconductors.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won revealed this information while appearing on stage with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei at an AI event in San Francisco, describing the AI developer's chip ambitions as "remarkable."
Previously, Anthropic had announced a $50 billion data center investment plan and was reported to be exploring custom chip development.
Seeking direct support from a supplier signals that the chip self-development effort is moving from planning to execution.
Aims for Computing Autonomy
Anthropic's computing infrastructure strategy began in November 2025, when the company announced a $50 billion investment to build data centers designed for AI workloads in Texas and New York, in partnership with Fluidstack.
In April 2026, Anthropic's custom chip plans emerged, covering ASIC and GPU designs, aiming to reduce dependence on external chip suppliers amid ongoing global computing shortages.
Similar vertical integration paths are common among Silicon Valley giants: Google has its TPU, Amazon has Trainium, and Meta is heavily investing in custom hardware. Now, Anthropic is joining this trend.
SK hynix: Investor and Supplier
In recent years, SK Group's strategic focus has shifted toward AI infrastructure and semiconductor R&D. Its subsidiary SK hynix is a leading global producer of high-bandwidth memory (HBM)—a chip essential for large-scale AI training.
In May 2026, SK hynix, along with Samsung and Micron, participated in Anthropic's Series H funding round. On July 10, SK hynix completed its Nasdaq listing with a valuation of $26.5 billion, as the market already prices in the critical role of memory chip suppliers in the AI supply chain.
Chey's comments came shortly after SK hynix's listing, coinciding with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung's visit to Silicon Valley for an AI summit, where multiple technology collaborations were announced, including agreements between Nvidia, Korea's Naver, and SK Group.
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