TSMC’s board has approved plans to invest up to $1 billion in OpenAI and Anthropic, according to Reuters. The Taiwanese chipmaker already manufactures chips used in the AI data centers both companies are building.
The plan allocates up to $500 million for OpenAI preferred stock reserved for large investors. Another $500 million would buy Anthropic common shares at its expected IPO price, Reuters reported.
TSMC’s factories produce the vast majority of Nvidia chips designed for AI data center workloads. Anthropic and OpenAI are buying large quantities of AI hardware made by TSMC for their data center projects. The investments would give the chipmaker stakes in two companies whose hardware demand supports its manufacturing business.
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That relationship adds to a pattern of financing among AI companies, their suppliers and their customers. Analysts have warned that these ties make it harder to judge underlying demand for AI hardware and services, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Journal reported that TSMC’s investment could give markets “a shot of confidence as the artificial-intelligence trade shows signs of strain.” Tech stocks have swung recently as investors have grown more cautious.
AI chip demand has helped TSMC report six straight quarters of record profit. The company earned more than $23 billion in the July through September 2026 quarter, according to Reuters.
TSMC makes Apple chips and expands global fabs
TSMC also makes most of Apple’s custom chips for iPhones, Mac laptops and desktops, as well as Apple’s planned AI computing server. Most TSMC fabrication plants are in Taiwan. The company also runs plants in Japan and China, is expanding a manufacturing cluster in Arizona, and is building a plant in Germany.
TSMC’s proposed investment is smaller than Nvidia’s AI company investments. Nvidia has invested $30 billion in OpenAI and $10 billion in Anthropic so far, alongside tens of billions of dollars in other AI and robotics companies. Under TSMC’s approved plan, the Anthropic share purchase would be made at the company’s expected IPO price.
