Personal update: I’ve decided to leave OpenAI.
I’m proud to have been part of the custom chip program and grateful to everyone I got to build with and learn from along the way. The density of hardware talent on that team is extraordinary, and I don't think there's a better chip…
— Clive Chan (@itsclivetime) June 6, 2026
Clive Chan announced that he has left OpenAI and joined Anthropic, marking another notable talent move in the competitive AI infrastructure race. Chan said he joined Anthropic after being impressed by the company’s talent, values, and ambition, and has already started work there.
In his announcement, Chan reflected on his roughly 2.4-year tenure at OpenAI, where he was the second hire on the company’s custom chip initiative. He expressed pride in helping build OpenAI’s internal hardware efforts and praised the team’s engineering capabilities, describing it as an exceptional chip design organization. He also said he remains excited to see OpenAI’s custom AI accelerators become an important part of future AGI infrastructure.
Chan explained that he was motivated by a desire to “climb a new mountain from the bottom again,” leading him to make the move to Anthropic. He added that the pace and intensity of his first few days at the company had already energized him.
The announcement sparked widespread discussion across the AI community, with industry figures and former colleagues offering congratulations and speculating about Anthropic’s future hardware ambitions. Several observers noted Chan’s experience working on OpenAI’s custom chip efforts and previously at Tesla’s Dojo supercomputer project, leading to questions about whether Anthropic may deepen its investment in AI hardware and infrastructure.
Chan indicated that he cannot yet discuss many details about OpenAI’s chip program, but pointed to previously announced plans involving OpenAI-designed AI accelerators targeted for deployment beginning in the second half of 2026.
