🤖 Anthropic's making it look easy

What’s going on here?

Anthropic's made a big impression on investors, and its next funding round could value the creator of the Claude chatbot at over $100 billion.

What does this mean?

Anthropic hit a $61.5 billion valuation earlier this year, helped by backing from Amazon and Google. Now, the AI startup isn’t actively fundraising – yet – but that hasn’t stopped private investment firms from making offers which could double that figure. The adoration mostly stems from surging demand for Claude, which has put Anthropic on track to make $4 billion in annual sales – up from $3 billion just a month ago. And besides being a boon for the firm, this kind of growth sends a broader signal: the AI boom is still very much booming, and investors are willing to pay up for companies that can draw real revenue from it.

Why should I care?

For markets: From chatbots to shopbots.

Fellow startup OpenAI – already valued at over $300 billion – is turning ChatGPT into an online mall, and you’d best believe it’ll earn a commission when users buy stuff. It’s the clearest sign yet that the AI race is moving into the next stage: where investors care less about how smart the model is and more about how well it sells. And that pressure to convert intangible hype into cold, hard cash could ripple across the whole tech sector.

Zooming out: The invite-only crowd.

Right now, private AI firms like Anthropic are still out of reach for most investors. But that could soon change: the US president wants to let retirement accounts – like 401(k)s – invest in private equity. That’d give regular folk access to all kinds of startups. With fewer traditional stocks to choose from and more value being created behind closed doors, that shift could reshape everyday portfolios – and change who gets to share in the next tech windfall.

What’s going on here?

TSMC reported its biggest-ever quarterly profit on Thursday and raised its forecast for the year, putting a smile on investors’ faces.

What does this mean?

The world’s biggest chipmaker beat expectations all round, pulling in 39% more revenue and 61% more profit than the same time last year. Plus, TSMC now expects sales to jump about 30% this year – up from its earlier predictions. That sunnier view was influenced by still-rising orders from Nvidia, Apple, and other tech giants – especially for the firm’s most advanced chips. Still, even record profits don’t ensure smooth sailing. Even with its more optimistic forecast, TSMC still warned about rising overseas expansion costs, a stronger Taiwanese dollar, and looming US tariffs – all of which could squeeze margins later in the year. But investors didn’t flinch, sending the stock up 4%.

Why should I care?

Zooming in: The FX effects.

TSMC’s minting a profit, but currency swings have been quietly eating into it. Most of the firm’s revenue is earned in greenbacks, and America’s dollar is down 11% against Taiwan’s. Last quarter alone, that foreign exchange (FX) shift swallowed 4.4% of the firm’s revenue – and this quarter, it could be as much as 6.6%. With every 1% gain in the Taiwanese dollar, TSMC’s US revenue falls by the same. So even if the firm runs with the bulls, those FX effects could give it the horns.

Zooming out: Big Tech’s back in the driver’s seat.

Investors are pouring into tech stocks at their fastest clip since 2009, brushing off trade worries and betting that AI has room left to run. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index is up about 30% from its April lows – and chipmakers are riding shotgun. TSMC’s stock has even raced ahead of that, gaining roughly 44% over the same stretch. Makes sense: the firm’s a core chip supplier, at the very heart of the AI boom.