Anthropic Abandons $7 Billion MatX Acquisition, Shifts to Partnership Talks

Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind the Claude chatbot, discussed acquiring AI chip startup MatX for approximately $7 billion before the deal stalled, according to people briefed on the matter. The negotiations, first reported by Reuters on August 27, have since evolved into conversations about a potential partnership rather than a full acquisition. Anthropic declined to comment on the talks, and MatX did not respond to requests for comment. The abandoned acquisition underscores Anthropic's aggressive push to develop custom silicon to reduce its reliance on suppliers like Nvidia and to gain greater control over the hardware used to train and run its AI models.