Anthropic hires Google chip veteran Amir Salek for in-house silicon push
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Anthropic PBC has hired Amir Salek, founder of Google's custom chip program, to lead its push into making its own semiconductors. Salek, who ran Google's tensor processing unit business until 2022, will report to James Bradbury on Anthropic's compute team. The move comes as Anthropic signs chip and data center capacity deals with vendors including Fractile, Riot Platforms, and Volta Infra.
Key Facts
- Amir Salek delivered the first seven generations of Google's tensor processing unit chips.
- Anthropic has an agreement with UK-based chip startup Fractile for an initial order of roughly $250 million of its chips.
- OpenAI has unveiled a chip called Jalapeno, co-developed with Broadcom Inc., and plans to begin using it later this year.
- Salek previously worked at Nvidia, the leading maker of AI processors.
The Hire
Anthropic PBC has hired Amir Salek, a founder of the custom chip program at Alphabet Inc.'s Google, as the AI lab lays the groundwork for a push into making its own semiconductors. Salek is joining the compute team of Anthropic, maker of the Claude platform, the AI company said Friday. The executive ran Google's tensor processing unit business until 2022 and delivered the first seven generations of those chips. In the new role, Salek will report to James Bradbury.
Chip Strategy
Anthropic, which buys chips from a variety of sources, including Nvidia Corp., Google and Amazon.com Inc., has indicated recently that it wants to build an in-house silicon business. The San Francisco-based company has begun hiring and listing jobs for the effort. Custom chips would potentially help it cope with supply shortages and tailor designs to better meet its needs. Anthropic is signing chip and data center capacity deals at a rapid clip — working with both established and emerging vendors.
Industry Context
Rival OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is taking similar steps. It has unveiled a chip called Jalapeno, co-developed with Broadcom Inc., and plans to begin using it later this year. After leaving Google, Salek has been senior managing director at Cerberus Capital Management, a private equity firm co-founded by Deputy Secretary of Defense Stephen Feinberg. He also previously worked at Nvidia, the leading maker of AI processors.
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Anthropic hires Google chip veteran Amir Salek for in-house silicon push
