Anthropic follows in OpenAI's footsteps for India foray

Artificial intelligence (AI) major Anthropic is looking to hire a country lead for India apart of its plans to expand its global footprint. The move comes as rival OpenAI gets ready to enter the country by the end of 2025.

Anthtropic will hire country heads for India, Australia and New Zealand, Korea and Singapore, CNBC reported. The company is already undertaking a broader expansion across the United Kingdom, northern and southern Europe, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The hiring spree is meant to tap into the growing enterprise demand across the world. The company is better known for building AI models adept at software development, colloquially known as vibe coding.

India is the second-largest market for Anthropic’s Claude AI chatbot, accounting for 7.2% of the usage share. This, however, is only a third of the United States’ 21.6% share.

Anthropic global expansion

Anthropic on Friday announced plans to triple its international workforce and expand its applied artificial intelligence team by fivefold this year.

As international demand drives the company's momentum, Anthropic plans to hire for more than 100 new positions across Dublin, London and Zurich. The company also plans to open its first Asian office in Tokyo, besides additional office locations in Europe.

The global expansion is led by Chris Ciauri, who recently joined as managing director of International following Paul Smith's appointment as chief commercial officer.

OpenAI’s India push

Anthropic’s global expansion plans follow similar efforts by rival OpenAI. The AI major said it will open an office in New Delhi — it’s first in India — by the end of this year.

Earlier, chief executive Sam Altman mentioned that India is the second-largest market for OpenAI, with the potential to surpass the US for the top spot. He noted that OpenAI is working to expand its offerings in India while keeping them affordable. Last month, it launched ChatGPT Go in the country at a monthly subscription of Rs 399.

India’s homegrown AI ambitions

As global AI majors head to India, the country is moving ahead with plans to further the technology domestically. Earlier this month, eight local firms — Avataar.ai, Bharatgen, Fractal Analytics, Tech Mahindra, Zeintech, Genloop Intelligence, NeuroDX, and Shodh AI — were selected as the second cohort of beneficiaries under the India AI Mission to develop foundational AI models. They will join Sarvam, SoketAI, Gan AI, and Gnani AI in receiving incentives to develop indigenous AI models.