Anthropic Picks Bengaluru for First India Office: What It Means in the AI Race with OpenAI

AI Race in India: Anthropic has announced that it will open its first India office in Bengaluru in early 2026. The move comes as demand for its Claude AI models is rising sharply in India, which has become the company’s second-largest market after the US.  

The timing and location are significant. Bengaluru remains India’s tech-talent hub, with strong enterprise ecosystems and a growing number of startups using AI tools. Establishing a local presence gives Anthropic closer proximity to developers, partners, and regulators. According to CEO Dario Amodei, the presence in India will help the company work with “organisations in India to pave a path for how beneficial AI can be scaled in a way that serves everyone.”  

How Does This Compare with OpenAI?

OpenAI is also moving aggressively in India. It recently registered as a legal entity and is expected to set up an office in New Delhi later in 2025. Anthropic’s expansion can be seen as both a response and a parallel run in the contest for global AI influence.  

While OpenAI has strong brand recognition and an early mover advantage, Anthropic has competitive strengths: strong coding capabilities, high usage among Indian developers, and growing trust in its safety and governance frameworks. The “applied AI” push in India, enterprise use cases, language localisation, and regulatory alignment is becoming a key battleground.  

India’s AI Ecosystem: What Foreign Players Gain and Need

India’s AI ecosystem offers scale, talent, and growing demand. With nearly a billion internet users, many languages, and rising enterprise interest, there’s room for multiple global AI players. For foreign companies, success depends not just on launching models, but localising them—handling Indic languages, complying with regulations, securing data, and ensuring affordability. Anthropic says it will enhance Claude’s Indic language capabilities and pursue partnerships in healthcare, education, agriculture, and other sectors where local impact matters.  

There is also pressure from the supply side. Local startups, homegrown foundational model developers, regulatory bodies, and policy frameworks are growing. Any AI company that ignores this environment may find adoption slower or face pushback. For Anthropic, establishing a local team, showing “safe and reliable” AI, and aligning with Indian government priorities will help it compete more meaningfully against OpenAI, Google, and others.

The Takeaway

Anthropic’s Bengaluru office is not just about geography. It reflects a strategic stance: more than just serving users, the company wants to influence how AI is built, governed, and used in India. In a market moving fast, the battle for trust, localisation, and meaningful enterprise adoption will likely decide which global AI players stick around.

Read more: Apple iPhone 17 Series Hits Indian Stores with Long Queues Seen Outside Saket and Bengaluru Stores