Samsung Could Produce a 1,300 W AI Chip for Anthropic

Samsung may be preparing for a new partnership with Anthropic, one of the world’s leading artificial intelligence companies. According to leaked information, Anthropic plans to develop its own AI accelerator using Samsung’s 2-nanometer SF2 manufacturing technology. If the deal goes through, Samsung Foundry could secure a major customer as it seeks to strengthen its competition with TSMC in the AI chip market.

According to reports, the custom AI chip intended for Anthropic is being designed and technically implemented by Broadcom. Initial production is planned at approximately 200,000 chips. This volume is considered relatively small for the AI accelerator market, as custom ASIC chips are typically produced in the millions. Anthropic reportedly wants to test the efficiency of the new hardware and infrastructure during the initial phase.

The new chip is expected to deliver approximately 4,000 TOPS of computing performance in INT8 format. This indicates that the chip will be capable of performing up to 4 quadrillion operations per second. The chip’s thermal design power (TDP) is claimed to be 1,300 W.

In terms of memory, the accelerator may be equipped with 192 GB or 288 GB of high-bandwidth HBM3E memory. This amount of memory is particularly important for running large AI models and processing large volumes of data at high speed.

However, deploying a chip this powerful involves more than developing the processor alone. Anthropic may need to create dedicated infrastructure for the new accelerator, including networking infrastructure, server racks, power distribution, and high-performance cooling systems.

Samsung’s SF2 manufacturing process in South Korea is based on low-numerical-aperture EUV lithography technology. The company is also preparing to bring new production capacity online at its Taylor facility in Texas, US.

According to reports, Samsung may use its I-Cube technology to package the chips being developed for Anthropic and integrate the HBM memory modules. I-Cube is a 2.5D packaging technology that allows several chips to be combined within a single package.

Samsung is also working with Qualcomm on next-generation advanced chip-packaging solutions. The 2.1D Packaging Alliance initiative, reportedly established by the two companies, involves the use of bridges made from organic materials to create connections between chips.

This technology uses organic polymer materials similar to the epoxy used in printed circuit boards, along with copper interconnects. However, it is not yet known whether this packaging technology will be used in Anthropic’s new accelerator.

The project is reportedly approaching the stage when the chip design is sent for manufacturing—the tape-out process. Additional information about Samsung’s manufacturing technology, packaging solutions, and other technical details is expected to emerge at this stage.

A potential agreement with Anthropic could be strategically important for Samsung. It would give the company an opportunity to demonstrate both its 2-nanometer manufacturing technology and its advanced packaging capabilities to major AI customers.

For now, neither party has officially confirmed the potential partnership or the chip’s technical specifications.