As India becomes the fastest-growing key market for AI globally, US AI giant Anthropic recently announced the appointment of Irina Ghose, former Managing Director of Microsoft India, as the head of India operations, and plans to open a new office in Bengaluru, known as the "Silicon Valley of India."

Ghose spent 24 years at Microsoft and has deep government and business connections. Her joining marks Anthropic's accelerated commercialization efforts in the world's most populous country. Currently, India has become the second-largest user market for Claude, with its usage highly concentrated in professional fields such as software development. To solidify its position in the Indian market, Anthropic is actively building a local team, recruiting for core positions such as startup and enterprise customer managers.

Facing intense competition from rivals such as OpenAI and Google, Anthropic has adopted a more targeted strategy. Ghose said the company will focus on providing "high-trust, enterprise-grade" AI solutions for Indian businesses and developers. Meanwhile, localized AI tools developed for India's multilingual environment are seen as key to empowering industries such as healthcare and education.

Although the Indian market has a large user base, converting traffic into actual revenue remains a challenge. Currently, the payment conversion rate of Indian users still lags behind that of the U.S. market, forcing major AI companies to engage in direct competition on pricing and distribution channels. As the 2026 India AI Summit approaches, the competition over computing power, models, and localized services will intensify.

Key Points:

  • 🇮🇳 Major Leadership Change: Irina Ghose, former Managing Director of Microsoft India, has joined Anthropic to lead the preparation of the Bengaluru office and the localization strategy.

  • 🚀 Strategic Deployment: India has become the second-largest user base for Claude, focusing on enterprise applications and software development scenarios.

  • ⚔️ Intense Competition: OpenAI plans to set up an office in Delhi, while Google gains distribution advantages through a partnership with Reliance. India has become a new hotspot for global AI competition.