Anthropic has announced that it is creating custom chips for Claude and is seeking engineers with experience in "shipped silicon."

      TL;DR: Anthropic announced the establishment of an internal silicon team to create custom chips for Claude, with a job listing offering salaries between $320K and $485K. The company maintains a multi-chip strategy incorporating hardware from AWS, Google, Nvidia, and AMD.

      On Wednesday, Anthropic confirmed that it is forming an in-house silicon team dedicated to designing custom chips for Claude, marking the first public acknowledgment of this initiative. A spokesperson for the company informed Business Insider that the co-design of hardware and models will enable Claude to operate more quickly and efficiently "at the scale our customers need." Anthropic stated that it will continue to adopt a "multi-chip approach," with components from AWS, Google, Nvidia, and AMD playing a significant role in its scaling efforts.

      The job listing from the company outlines a need for a "custom silicon team" and invites engineers with expertise in chip design and verification. The compensation ranges from $320,000 to $485,000. Applicants must show that they have made “direct personal contributions” to the completion and delivery of semiconductor designs. The listing specifies that the ideal candidate will have experience in shipping silicon, possess a realistic understanding of timelines, and be comfortable making significant decisions independently.

      This announcement follows months of indications. In April, Reuters reported that Anthropic was considering custom chips as Claude’s annual revenue exceeded $30 billion, despite not having a dedicated team at that time. Last month, The Information noted that Anthropic had discussions with Samsung regarding potential manufacturing partnerships. The recruitment of Clive Chan, who previously contributed to OpenAI’s chip development, indicated a shift from exploration to active development. This confirmation solidifies that transition.

      Anthropic is not the only company pursuing this path. OpenAI introduced Jalapeño in June, a custom inference chip developed in collaboration with Broadcom, intended for deployment in late 2026. Meta aims to initiate production of its in-house “Iris” chip in September. Mistral’s CEO has expressed that the French firm is considering developing its own silicon. Industry sources estimate that the cost of designing an AI chip is around $500 million, but the financial feasibility improves for Anthropic due to its scale. Currently, Claude operates using Google TPUs, Amazon Trainium, Nvidia GPUs, and AMD hardware. Introducing its own silicon would provide a fifth option that the company can manage completely.

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