Market Chatter: Amazon-Backed Anthropic Held Talks to Acquire AI Chip Startup MatX for $7 Billion

05:27 AM EDT, 08/28/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Amazon-backed (AMZN) Anthropic considered purchasing AI chip startup MatX for approximately $7 billion to speed up custom hardware development, Reuters reported Thursday, citing two people briefed on the matter. The negotiations later shifted toward a potential partnership before coming to a halt, with MatX now pursuing fresh capital at a $4 billion valuation, the news outlet reported, citing a third person and one of the sources. The transaction would provide the AI company with in-house engineering capabilities to build specialized processors for training large language models, Reuters reported, citing the people. The company has also been meeting with other AI chip startups and has not selected an acquisition target, Reuters reported. Anthropic did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment, while MatX could not be reached. (Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)