TSMC Approves Up to $1 Billion for Anthropic and OpenAI Investments

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC) approved investments of up to $500 million each in Anthropic and OpenAI at a Nov. 10 board meeting, setting a combined ceiling of $1 billion. The authorization does not confirm that either purchase has closed, so the total is a maximum approved amount rather than completed spending.

The board approved buying Anthropic common shares at the company's IPO price and up to $500 million in OpenAI preferred stock. It gave no price, valuation, financing-round details or timetable for the OpenAI investment. The resolutions also do not specify when either transaction would be completed.

Anthropic's proposed IPO includes a separate planned $26 billion private placement at the IPO price. Under that plan, TSMC Partners Ltd. agreed to buy 6,756,756 nonvoting Class N shares for about $500 million, subject to the IPO's completion and other conditions. AMD, Broadcom, Google, Micron, Microsoft and Nvidia are also planned participants. TSMC's board resolution does not identify the entity buying Anthropic shares or explicitly connect its authorization to TSMC Partners Ltd.'s placement agreement.

Anthropic's proposed public offering includes 825 million shares with a price range of $70 to $78 each. The range is not final, and the private placement price will match the eventual IPO price. Anthropic expects to set that price Wednesday, Nov. 18, and begin trading Thursday, Nov. 19.

At the same meeting, TSMC approved approximately $40.93 billion in capital appropriations for advanced technology and packaging capacity, fab construction, facility systems, 2027 research and development, and other capital spending. The appropriations are separate from the $1 billion ceiling for the AI company investments.

In a separate measure, the board authorized up to $500 million for a new investment company focused on strategic investments across the semiconductor industry and its related ecosystem, a plan covered in earlier coverage. It did not state that the AI investments were tied to the manufacturing and research spending or explain its rationale for them.