Samsung may build Anthropic AI chip on 2 nm process

Samsung Foundry may be close to winning a manufacturing deal for Anthropic’s custom AI accelerator. The chip is reportedly being developed on Samsung’s SF2 2 nm node, with initial production expected at around 200,000 chips. Broadcom is handling the ASIC design and implementation, targeting around 4,000 TOPS of INT8 compute and a TDP of 1,300 W per chip.

The accelerator is expected to use either 192 GB of HBM3E or 288 GB of HBM3E, depending on the final design. The initial volume is modest for an ASIC program, suggesting Anthropic may still be testing the viability of a broader custom infrastructure that would include networking, rack design, power supply, cooling and other components.

Samsung’s SF2 node currently uses Low-NA EUV lithography and is manufactured in South Korea, with a new facility planned for Taylor, Texas. Samsung is likely to use its I-Cube technology for HBM integration, providing 2.5D packaging similar to TSMC’s CoWoS. A deal with Anthropic would strengthen Samsung’s position with external foundry customers and help narrow the gap with TSMC’s contract manufacturing business.