Anthropic’s Ambitious Hardware Push

Anthropic PBC, the San Francisco-based AI lab behind the Claude platform, has made a significant move in its bid to become a major player in the hardware space. The company has hired Amir Salek, a seasoned chip industry veteran with a wealth of experience at Google and Nvidia, as part of its efforts to develop custom semiconductors.

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Salek, who previously ran Google’s tensor processing unit business until 2022 and delivered the first seven generations of those chips, joins the compute team at Anthropic. In his new role, he will report directly to James Bradbury and be responsible for leading the company’s push into hardware.

Anthropic’s decision to develop its own custom chips is a strategic move to address supply shortages and tailor designs to better meet its needs. The company has already begun hiring and listing jobs for the effort, signaling its commitment to building an in-house silicon business.

The AI lab is not alone in its ambitions. Rival OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has also unveiled a custom chip called Jalapeno, co-developed with Broadcom Inc. Anthropic, however, is taking a different approach, signing chip and data center capacity deals with both established and emerging vendors.

One such deal is with UK-based chip startup Fractile, which has secured an initial order of roughly $250 million worth of chips from Anthropic. The AI lab has also signed capacity deals with Riot Platforms Inc. and Volta Infra Holdings Ltd, further solidifying its position in the hardware space.

Salek’s hiring is a significant coup for Anthropic, bringing a wealth of expertise and experience to the company’s hardware efforts. His background in developing custom chips at Google and Nvidia makes him an ideal fit for the role, and his leadership will be crucial in driving Anthropic’s hardware ambitions forward.

Ambitious Plans and Strategic Hires

Anthropic’s push into hardware is part of a broader effort to become a major player in the AI space. The company has already made significant strides in developing its Claude platform, and the hiring of Salek is a key step in its bid to become a leading hardware player.

Like other AI giants, Anthropic is scrambling to get enough data center infrastructure to support its ambitions. Custom chips would potentially help it cope with supply shortages and tailor designs to better meet its needs.

Rival OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has also unveiled a custom chip called Jalapeno, co-developed with Broadcom Inc. Anthropic, however, is taking a different approach, signing chip and data center capacity deals with both established and emerging vendors.

Anthropic’s decision to develop its own custom chips is a strategic move to address supply shortages and tailor designs to better meet its needs. The company has already begun hiring and listing jobs for the effort, signaling its commitment to building an in-house silicon business.