TSMC approves $1 billion bet split between Anthropic’s IPO and OpenAI’s private round

TSMC (NYSE: TSM) will buy up to $500 million of Anthropic shares and up to $500 million of OpenAI stock, its board decided on Tuesday.

This makes the world’s biggest chip maker a direct investor in two rival AI companies just as both are raising money. Both companies also rely, at least indirectly, on TSMC’s factories.

Will TSMC buy Anthropic and OpenAI shares?

A filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on November 10 shows that TSMC’s board has decided to buy Anthropic common shares at the price set in Anthropic’s initial public offering (IPO), up to $500 million. The same filing says that TSMC will buy up to $500 million of OpenAI preferred stock.

Anthropic made its IPO papers public on October 26 and started meeting investors on November 9. The plan was to price the deal the next week and list before Thanksgiving. The company reportedly had a goal of raising up to $100 billion at a $2 trillion value, but one shareholder wanted a value closer to $1 trillion.

Anthropic’s third-quarter revenue was $16.8 billion, up 45% from the quarter before, representing a slower increase than the triple-digit growth it had earlier in the year. Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) are running the deal, and TSMC will pay whatever price they set.

OpenAI reportedly closed about $11 billion at a $1.25 trillion value, with the money sent on Friday, November 6. The round could grow to about $20 billion in the coming weeks.

Cryptopolitan reported that OpenAI first aimed for $30 billion or more at a $1.4 trillion value. The target fell as investors grew nervous about AI infrastructure spending and possible data-center rules after the U.S. midterm elections. OpenAI plans to go public in 2027, and President Greg Brockman has pointed to that year as realistic.

Notably, OpenAI already sent chip designs to TSMC to be made in February 2025, as part of an effort to depend less on Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA).

Can TSMC afford these investments?

TSMC’s board has also approved about $40.9 billion in spending for 2027 and another $500 million for an investment company focused on the chip supply chain.

The company’s finances are growing rapidly with a reported $46.72 billion in third-quarter revenue. That figure represents a 50.9% increase from a year earlier. Net profit was about $23.86 billion, or about $0.92 per share.

TSMC’s October sales alone added up to about $18.35 billion, up by 59.7% from October 2025, according to the company’s monthly report. The company’s board also set a cash dividend of about $0.28 per share for the quarter.