Google TPU Veteran Amir Salek Joins Anthropic’s Compute Team

From Reliance on External Chips to Betting on Compute Stack

Anthropic has traditionally depended on external suppliers for AI compute, purchasing Nvidia GPUs, Google TPUs, and Amazon AWS chips to train and run its Claude models.

With Claude’s rapid iteration, the company forecasts a $19 billion compute spend by 2026, and continued reliance on third‑party chips creates cost and supply‑chain pressure.

Hiring Amir Salek, who led Google’s TPU program from 2013 to 2022 and previously helped build Nvidia’s on‑chip systems, underscores Anthropic’s intent to develop its own chips to optimize hardware for its models, improve inference efficiency, and lower long‑term costs.

AI Companies Join Chip Race

Anthropic is not alone; OpenAI recently announced its own chip project, Jalapeño, co‑developed with Broadcom and Celestica, aimed at large‑language‑model inference.

Both firms see inference cost as a new competitive frontier, where dedicated chips can reduce operating expenses and boost service efficiency.

Salek’s addition signals that AI competition will extend from model capabilities to the underlying compute infrastructure.

Compute Supply Chain Becomes Next Battlefield

The AI chip market is reshaping the industry landscape. Nvidia still dominates, but leading AI labs are pursuing custom silicon and multi‑vendor strategies to lessen dependence on a single hardware stack.

Anthropic has already expanded its compute resources through partnerships with chip makers and data‑center operators, preparing for future training and deployment needs.

In the coming years, a company’s core strength will be judged not only by model size and algorithmic innovation but also by its ability to build stable, efficient, and controllable compute infrastructure.

From Claude models to custom chips, Anthropic is attempting to transform into an AI infrastructure provider, reflecting a broader industry shift where the next AI battleground is the hardware that powers models.

Reference link: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-21/anthropic-taps-google-chip-veteran-as-part-of-push-into-hardware