SK Group chairman says Anthropic is building its own computing power, signaling a deeper AI infrastructure arms race

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won has confirmed that Anthropic, the AI company behind Claude, has opted to develop its own computing power rather than rely entirely on third-party providers. The statement, made during events surrounding SK Hynix’s Nasdaq listing in July 2026, highlights a seismic shift in how the world’s most advanced AI companies think about infrastructure. Anthropic’s $50 billion bet on self-sufficiency Anthropic committed $50 billion to building custom AI data centers across the US, an investment first announced in November 2025. The facilities, located in Texas and New York, are being designed specifically for AI workloads through a partnership with Fluidstack. By April 2026, reports surfaced that Anthropic was also exploring the development of custom AI chips, both ASICs and GPUs. The goal is straightforward: reduce dependency on external chip suppliers during a period of persistent compute shortages. This push for proprietary silicon mirrors moves by other tech giants. Google has its TPUs, Amazon has Trainium, and Meta has been investing heavily in custom hardware. SK Hynix plays both sides of the table Chey Tae-won isn’t just an observer in this story. SK Hynix...