Anthropic, the AI research and development company behind Claude AI, is intensifying its focus on India, signaling a major expansion in the country's burgeoning AI market. This strategic move follows a significant surge in the adoption of Claude AI in India.
CEO's Visit and Meeting with PM Modi
Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, recently met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi to discuss the company's expansion plans in India. The meeting underscores Anthropic's commitment to contributing to India's AI ecosystem and growing its local team. Amodei noted the fivefold increase in Claude Code usage in India since June, highlighting the country's rapidly growing AI ecosystem.
PM Modi welcomed Anthropic's expansion, emphasizing India's vibrant tech ecosystem and the potential of its talented youth in driving human-centric and responsible AI innovation. He expressed confidence that the partnership would further strengthen India's AI capabilities across key sectors such as education, healthcare, and agriculture.
Bengaluru Office and Expansion Plans
Anthropic plans to open its first Indian office in Bengaluru by early 2026. Bengaluru was chosen for its strong talent density and proximity to India's enterprise ecosystem. This will be Anthropic's second office in the Indo-Pacific region, following Tokyo. The Bengaluru office will focus on scaling local engineering, commercial, and partner activities. Anthropic intends to hire an in-market team focused on building AI for unique local uses across the country. The company also intends to triple parts of its international workforce to meet demand.
Claude AI Adoption in India
India has emerged as a key market for AI platforms. Claude AI's adoption rate in India has surpassed global trends. India accounts for 10 million of Claude's 50 million global monthly active users, a 20% share. Claude's usage in India grew 150% year-on-year in 2025, compared to 100% globally. A "disproportionately high amount" of Claude's usage in India is dedicated to technical and programming-related activities, including mobile user interface development and web application debugging. Startups account for 33% of Claude Code conversations in India, positioning Anthropic as a preferred partner for India's entrepreneurial ecosystem.
AI Market in India
The Indian AI market is experiencing rapid growth. It is expected to reach over $17 billion by 2027, more than tripling its current size. Another report states that the AI market in India is expected to reach USD 28.37 billion by 2030. Multiple factors like government initiatives, demand for AI-based solutions, digital infrastructure, and increasing investments are driving the market expansion. India has a thriving AI ecosystem with over 600,000 AI professionals.
Strategic Partnerships and Social Impact
Anthropic's India strategy includes partnerships with government agencies and NGOs to apply AI in public health, data analytics, and education. The company's initiatives will focus on ensuring AI contributes to social development while maintaining safety and ethical standards. Anthropic intends to leverage Claude's analytical capabilities for locally-led, data-driven public health initiatives and collaborate with education organizations to pilot AI-powered learning tools. The company will also work with accelerators and social entrepreneurs to integrate AI into locally-relevant solutions.
Language Support
Anthropic is heavily investing in enhancing Claude's capabilities in Indic languages, including Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Punjabi, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, and Urdu. The start-up will reportedly roll out improved Hindi performance for government and enterprise interfaces and train its models on multiple Indic languages to drive adoption among public sector and enterprise users.
Challenges and Opportunities
While AI presents significant opportunities for economic growth and social development in India, challenges such as data privacy concerns, skill shortages, and ethical considerations need to be addressed for responsible AI deployment. As of 2024, India faces a shortage of approximately 200,000 skilled AI professionals. Anthropic's expansion aims to address these challenges by fostering technological trust through digital public infrastructure and tackling socioeconomic issues.
