Anthropic taps Google chip veteran Amir Salek as part of push into hardware
business-standard.com Aug 22, 2026

Anthropic taps Google chip veteran Amir Salek as part of push into hardware

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

Anthropic PBC has appointed Amir Salek, a former leader of Google’s custom chip program, to its compute team as the AI company advances its strategy to develop in-house semiconductors. Salek, who oversaw the first seven generations of Google’s tensor processing units until 2022, will report directly to James Bradbury. This hiring marks a significant step in Anthropic’s effort to build an internal silicon business, moving beyond its current reliance on external suppliers like Nvidia, Google, and Amazon. The San Francisco-based firm, known for its Claude platform, has recently begun recruiting for this initiative. Like other major AI players, Anthropic faces intense pressure to secure sufficient data center infrastructure to support its rapid growth. Developing proprietary chips aims to mitigate supply chain shortages and allow for hardware designs specifically optimized for the company’s unique computational requirements, ensuring greater control over its technological foundation.

💡 Why It Matters

  • · Securing specialized silicon expertise allows Anthropic to bypass reliance on third-party suppliers, directly addressing critical bottlenecks in AI infrastructure.
  • · This move shifts the competitive landscape by enabling tailored hardware solutions that optimize performance for specific models.