{"id":64167,"date":"2026-07-03T04:08:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T08:08:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/samsung-foundry-eyes-6-5-billion-meta-deal-as-ai-chip-race-intensifies\/64167\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T04:08:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T08:08:13","slug":"samsung-foundry-eyes-6-5-billion-meta-deal-as-ai-chip-race-intensifies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/samsung-foundry-eyes-6-5-billion-meta-deal-as-ai-chip-race-intensifies\/64167\/","title":{"rendered":"Samsung Foundry Eyes $6.5 Billion Meta Deal as AI Chip Race Intensifies"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Samsung Foundry<\/strong> is in advanced talks with <strong>Meta Platforms (<a href=\"\/stock\/META\">META<\/a>)<\/strong> for a <strong>$6.54 billion (10 trillion won)<\/strong> contract to mass-produce third-generation <strong>MTIA<\/strong> AI chips using a <strong>2-nanometer<\/strong> process.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Anthropic<\/strong> is reportedly exploring a strategic partnership with <strong>Samsung<\/strong> for custom <strong>2nm<\/strong> AI silicon, aiming to reduce its reliance on <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/NVDA\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"15\" title=\"stock: NVDA\">Nvidia<\/a> (<a href=\"\/stock\/NVDA\">NVDA<\/a>)<\/strong> and <strong>Google (<a href=\"\/stock\/GOOGL\">GOOGL<\/a>)<\/strong> hardware.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Alibaba (<a href=\"\/stock\/BABA\">BABA<\/a>)<\/strong> has announced an internal ban on <strong>Anthropic\u2019s Claude Code<\/strong> starting July 10, citing alleged security backdoors and &quot;high-risk&quot; software concerns.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Japan\u2019s<\/strong> largest labor union, <strong>Rengo<\/strong>, confirmed a final average wage hike of <strong>5.01%<\/strong> for 2026, marking the third consecutive year of increases above the 5% threshold.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Iran<\/strong> has signaled a deepening strategic alliance with <strong>China<\/strong>, with Parliament Speaker <strong>Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf<\/strong> warning against U.S. &quot;interference&quot; in the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Samsung Emerges as Key AI Foundry Rival to TSMC<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Samsung Electronics (<a href=\"\/stock\/SSNLF\">SSNLF<\/a>)<\/strong> is positioning its foundry business as a primary alternative to <strong>TSMC (<a href=\"\/stock\/TSM\">TSM<\/a>)<\/strong> for global Big Tech firms seeking custom AI application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). The South Korean giant is reportedly negotiating a massive <strong>$6.54 billion<\/strong> deal with <strong>Meta Platforms (<a href=\"\/stock\/META\">META<\/a>)<\/strong> to produce the third generation of the <strong>Meta Training and Inference Accelerator (MTIA)<\/strong>. This shift is significant as Meta\u2019s previous two generations of MTIA chips were manufactured by TSMC; the move to Samsung\u2019s <strong>2-nanometer (nm)<\/strong> process highlights growing confidence in Samsung\u2019s next-generation fabrication capabilities.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the Meta negotiations, <strong>Anthropic<\/strong>\u2014the AI startup valued at nearly <strong>$100 billion<\/strong>\u2014is in early-stage talks with Samsung to develop its own custom AI chips. This partnership follows Samsung\u2019s participation in Anthropic\u2019s <strong>$65 billion Series H<\/strong> funding round in May 2026. Industry analysts estimate that Samsung\u2019s medium-to-long-term order backlog could approach <strong>50 trillion won<\/strong>, potentially returning its foundry division to profitability as early as the fourth quarter of this year.<\/p>\n<h2>Alibaba Bans Claude Code Amid Security Allegations<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Alibaba (<a href=\"\/stock\/BABA\">BABA<\/a>)<\/strong> is set to prohibit the use of <strong>Anthropic\u2019s Claude Code<\/strong> within its workplace environments effective <strong>July 10, 2026<\/strong>. The decision follows reports of alleged &quot;backdoors&quot; in the coding assistant that could potentially leak sensitive data or allow unauthorized remote access. While <strong>Anthropic<\/strong> has characterized some of these features as experiments to prevent unauthorized use, the Chinese e-commerce giant has classified the tool as &quot;high-risk&quot; and is recommending its own <strong>Qoder<\/strong> as an internal alternative.<\/p>\n<p>This restriction comes at a time of heightened tension between the two companies. <strong>Anthropic<\/strong> recently accused entities linked to Alibaba\u2019s <strong>Qwen<\/strong> lab of conducting a massive &quot;distillation campaign&quot; to clone its models. The ban also mirrors recent moves by financial institutions like <strong>JPMorgan (<a href=\"\/stock\/JPM\">JPM<\/a>)<\/strong> and <strong>Goldman Sachs (<a href=\"\/stock\/GS\">GS<\/a>)<\/strong>, which limited Claude access in certain regions due to licensing and compliance concerns.<\/p>\n<h2>Japan Sustains Wage Momentum; Iran Firms China Ties<\/h2>\n<p>On the macroeconomic front, <strong>Japan\u2019s<\/strong> labor market continues to show strength as <strong>Rengo<\/strong> reported a final average wage increase of <strong>5.01%<\/strong> for 2026. Although slightly lower than last year\u2019s <strong>5.25%<\/strong>, the result marks a sustained period of aggressive pay hikes aimed at fueling a &quot;virtuous cycle&quot; of growth and inflation. However, real wages have struggled to keep pace with rising costs, falling for the fourth consecutive year when adjusted for inflation.<\/p>\n<p>Geopolitically, <strong>Iran<\/strong> is strengthening its &quot;principal strategic partnership&quot; with <strong>China<\/strong>. Parliament Speaker <strong>Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf<\/strong> met with Chinese officials in Tehran to coordinate economic strategies and maritime security. Ghalibaf emphasized that Iran would not tolerate U.S. interference in the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>, a vital corridor where Iran has recently implemented new &quot;management protocols&quot; that favor Chinese vessel transits while restricting U.S. and Israeli-linked shipping.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Samsung Foundry is in advanced talks with Meta Platforms (META) for a $6.54 billion (10 trillion won) contract [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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