❯ TSMC approves investments of up to $500 million each in Anthropic and OpenAI

Two investments approvedTSMC’s board approved two investments on November 10. The foundry plans to buy up to $500 million of Anthropic common stock at its IPO price and up to $500 million of OpenAI preferred stock, for a combined maximum of $1 billion.

Two routes into the companiesAnthropic’s prospectus names TSMC subsidiary TSMC Partners as a participant in its private placement. That placement is priced at the public offering price and involves Class N stock, which generally has no voting rights, with closing expected immediately after the IPO. OpenAI is privately held, and TSMC’s board resolution gives a cap for the preferred-stock purchase. It did not disclose pricing, the specific rights attached to those shares or a closing date.

From manufacturing to ownershipTSMC’s core business is manufacturing chips designed by customers. At the same meeting, the board also authorized about $40.9 billion in capital appropriations for areas such as process capacity, packaging and facilities. The two AI investments are equity allocations, with the disclosed terms focused on share class, pricing or spending caps.

▮ SIGNALTaking stakes in both model companies gives TSMC potential equity upside alongside its chipmaking business, with a defined cap on each investment.