Anthropic hires Google chip expert to build in-house silicon unit

Anthropic has appointed Amir Salek, who previously worked on chip design at Google, to lead its nascent hardware division. The hire underscores the AI firm's growing interest in designing and manufacturing custom silicon rather than depending entirely on external suppliers for its computational needs.

The California-based company, known for developing large language models, currently sources chips from multiple vendors including Nvidia, Google, and Amazon Web Services. However, recent signals from the firm's leadership have indicated that building proprietary semiconductor capabilities has become a strategic priority.

Salek's recruitment reflects a broader industry trend where major technology firms are developing in-house chip solutions to optimise performance and reduce costs. Companies such as Meta, Apple, and Tesla have already invested substantially in custom silicon design to support their specific operational requirements.

For Anthropic, developing custom chips could provide significant advantages in training and deploying its AI models more efficiently. The move also represents an effort to address potential bottlenecks in chip availability, a challenge that has constrained the AI sector's expansion in recent years.

The timing of this hire comes as competition intensifies in the artificial intelligence sector, with firms seeking technological differentiation beyond software capabilities alone.