PiCK

Summary

  • TSMC said it will invest up to $1 billion to buy shares in Anthropic and OpenAI.
  • TSMC said it will invest up to $500 million each in Anthropic at its IPO offering price and in OpenAI preferred stock.
  • TSMC said it expects investment returns from the growth of the AI industry and approved the establishment of an investment company with up to $500 million in capital.

Forecast Trend Report by Period

Expectations Grow for U.S. Listings Next Year

Rare Move to Take Stakes in Customers

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. plans to invest as much as $1 billion to buy shares in artificial intelligence model developers Anthropic and OpenAI ahead of their initial public offerings. The move is unusual for TSMC, which rarely takes equity stakes in customers.

According to a filing TSMC submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Nov. 10, the board approved investing up to $500 million each in Anthropic and OpenAI. TSMC plans to buy Anthropic shares at the IPO offering price and acquire OpenAI preferred stock.

TSMC will acquire its Anthropic stake by participating in a $26 billion private placement tied to Anthropic's IPO, scheduled for Nov. 19. Seven companies in total are set to participate, including Google and Nvidia with $10 billion each, AMD with $2.5 billion, and Broadcom, Micron and Microsoft with $1 billion each. The Anthropic shares these companies will receive are non-voting common stock.

TSMC is set to buy shares in OpenAI, which is pursuing a listing next year, at $992 apiece. Its stake is projected to be less than 0.04%. The company plans to acquire as many as 504,000 shares. The securities are preferred stock with conversion rights and liquidation preference.

TSMC's board also approved the establishment of an investment company with up to $500 million in capital to make strategic investments in the global semiconductor ecosystem. It will be TSMC's first dedicated investment organization.

Anthropic and OpenAI are both TSMC customers. The two companies are developing their own custom AI chips. By supplying semiconductors to them while also taking equity stakes, TSMC stands to seek investment returns tied to the AI industry's growth.

Son Ju-hyung, Hankyung.com reporter [email protected]

Korea Economic Daily