India’s AI ecosystem will play central role in how AI develops globally: Anthropic CEO on opening India office

The global frontier of artificial intelligence is finding a new home in India. Anthropic, the U.S.-based AI research company behind the Claude family of models, announced that it will open an office in Bengaluru early next year – a move that marks both a business expansion and a recognition of India’s growing influence in the global AI landscape.

Survey

The announcement came during Anthropic CEO and co-founder Dario Amodei’s visit to India this week, where he emphasized that India’s combination of technical talent, policy momentum, and social diversity makes it a cornerstone for the next phase of AI development.

Add As A Trusted Source For Google.

Add as a preferred source on Google

“India is compelling because of the scale of its technical talent and the commitment from the Indian government to ensure the benefits of artificial intelligence reach all areas of society, not just concentrated pockets,” Amodei said. “India’s AI ecosystem will play a central role in how AI develops globally and democratically.”

Bengaluru: Anthropic’s new AI hub in Asia

The company’s upcoming Bengaluru office, its second in the Indo-Pacific after Tokyo, will act as a regional hub for research, partnerships, and localized AI innovation. Anthropic plans to hire a local team focused on adapting its technologies to India’s unique linguistic and social landscape. The Bengaluru base will also strengthen ties with India’s fast-growing enterprise and startup ecosystem.

Paul Smith, Anthropic’s Chief Commercial Officer, said the move comes at a time when Indian organizations are looking for “AI models they can trust.” As businesses across sectors embrace automation and AI-driven decision-making, the demand for systems that balance performance with safety and reliability has become critical.

“We see remarkable promise in India’s innovation ecosystem,” Smith noted. “The vibrant startup and developer communities alongside Indian enterprises are building solutions that impact millions of lives globally.”

Empowering India’s AI talent and industries

Anthropic’s entry into India is also a statement of confidence in the country’s developer base. India already ranks second globally in the use of Anthropic’s Claude models, surpassed only by the US, with much of that usage focused on technical and software development tasks. From mobile UI design to web app debugging, Indian developers have embraced Claude as a creative and coding assistant.

The company has more than 300,000 business customers worldwide, and nearly 80 percent of consumer usage now comes from outside the U.S. Indian startups like Emergent, an AI coding platform, have already integrated Claude into their workflows, helping democratize app development and make “vibe coding” accessible to new creators.

Language, inclusion, and local impact

A key focus area for Anthropic’s India strategy is expanding Claude’s capabilities in Indic languages. The company is investing in deeper multilingual support, starting with enhanced performance in Hindi and plans to extend to other major Indian languages such as Bengali, Tamil, Marathi, Telugu, Punjabi, Gujarati, and Malayalam. This expansion is aimed at making AI more inclusive and accessible, especially in education and public sector applications.

Such localization is not just a technological goal but a social one. By enabling AI to “speak” the languages of India, Anthropic hopes to make its models useful in classrooms, local governance, and rural innovation programs.

AI for social good

Beyond commercial partnerships, Anthropic’s beneficial deployments team will collaborate with Indian government bodies and nonprofits to use AI as a tool for societal progress. Early initiatives are expected to focus on public health analytics and AI-assisted education programs that could reach millions of students across the country.

The company also plans to work with accelerators and social enterprises to support locally-led innovation – positioning AI as an enabler of India’s broader development agenda.

Anthropic’s expansion comes at a time when India’s AI sector is rapidly maturing – bolstered by national initiatives such as the IndiaAI Mission and the Digital India framework. The convergence of policy, research, and entrepreneurship makes India a vital part of what Amodei calls a “democratic and global AI future.”

Anthropic’s public benefit corporation status, alongside its Long-Term Benefit Trust (LTBT) governance model, underlines that mission. It allows the company to pursue long-term social good even when it might not align with short-term shareholder gains, a philosophy that aligns with India’s emphasis on inclusive technology growth.

As the world debates how to balance AI’s promise and perils, Anthropic’s bet on India signals a new chapter, one where innovation and responsibility can coexist, powered by a diverse, multilingual, and ambitious nation at the heart of the AI revolution.

Follow Us

Vyom Ramani

A journalist with a soft spot for tech, games, and things that go beep. While waiting for a delayed metro or rebooting his brain, you’ll find him solving Rubik’s Cubes, bingeing F1, or hunting for the next great snack. View Full Profile