The AI firm Anthropic is making a major move into India, announcing plans to open its first office in the country as it looks to compete with its main rival, OpenAI. The Amazon-backed company, valued at a massive $183 billion, announced that it will open an office in Bengaluru in early 2026. This will be its second office in Asia, following its launch in Tokyo.
The move comes as AI usage is exploding in India. A recent report found that more than 90% of workers in the country are already using AI, the highest adoption rate in the world. “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,” said Anthropic’s CEO, Dario Amodei.
Anthropic’s main product is its AI model, Claude, a direct challenger to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The company says India is already its second-biggest market for Claude, behind only the U.S. As part of its expansion, Anthropic plans to launch a new, better-performing version of Claude in Hindi and nearly a dozen other Indian languages.
The company is entering a competitive market. OpenAI has been making significant strides in India this year, launching a low-cost subscription plan for ChatGPT and reportedly planning to establish its own office in the country. While Anthropic has a lot of catching up to do in terms of user numbers, this new office is a clear sign that it’s serious about taking on the competition and winning over one of the world’s fastest-growing markets.
