Anthropic Lands OpenAI Custom Chip Engineer Clive Chan
Anthropic has added hardware talent from rival OpenAI, with Clive Chan joining as a Member of Technical Staff focused on custom silicon.
Chan, who was widely reported as OpenAI’s second hardware hire on its in-house custom chip program, announced the move on X around June 6–7, 2026. He had joined OpenAI in January 2024.
Move Details
- From: OpenAI (Custom Chip Program)
- To: Anthropic (Member of Technical Staff, Hardware/Custom Silicon)
- Previous experience: ~2.5 years on Tesla’s Dojo supercomputer and Autopilot deep-learning infrastructure team before joining OpenAI.
In his announcement, Chan said he was proud of the work at OpenAI but felt the pull to “climb a new mountain from the bottom again.”
Why It Matters
This is a notable infrastructure move as both OpenAI and Anthropic push forward on custom AI accelerators. Labs are increasingly focused on building their own silicon to reduce reliance on external suppliers, lower inference and training costs, and gain more control over hardware roadmaps.
Chan’s background spans Tesla’s Dojo efforts and OpenAI’s early custom chip work, making him a targeted addition for Anthropic’s hardware ambitions.
