Key facts
- TSMC's board approved up to $500 million for OpenAI preferred stock reserved for large investors, per Reuters.
- The board approved up to $500 million to buy Anthropic common shares at its expected IPO price, per Reuters.
- TSMC reported more than $23 billion in profit for the July through September 2026 quarter, per Reuters.
- Nvidia has invested $30 billion in OpenAI and $10 billion in Anthropic so far, the report said.
TSMC's board approved plans to invest up to $500 million in OpenAI preferred stock reserved for large investors and up to $500 million to purchase Anthropic common shares at the latter's expected IPO price, Reuters reported. The report did not date the board decision.
The investment would give the Taiwanese chipmaker direct stakes in two leading AI developers. TSMC's fabs produce the vast majority of Nvidia's chips designed for AI data center workloads and most of Apple's custom chips, and Anthropic and OpenAI both buy large quantities of AI hardware made by TSMC.
The Wall Street Journal reported that such an investment may give markets "a shot of confidence as the artificial-intelligence trade shows signs of strain." Analysts also warned that circular financing among investors, suppliers and customers has made it difficult to evaluate real demand for AI hardware and services, according to the Journal.
TSMC has reported six consecutive quarters of record profit, including more than $23 billion in the July through September 2026 quarter, per Reuters. Nvidia has invested $30 billion in OpenAI and $10 billion in Anthropic so far, the report said.