Anthropic, one of the world’s largest artificial intelligence startups, has appointed former Microsoft India managing director Irina Ghose as managing director for its India operations, marking its first senior leadership hire in the country.
Ghose brings more than two decades of experience at Microsoft India, where she spent 24 years and rose through the organisation to become chief operating officer before being elevated to managing director in June 2023. During her tenure, she also led the company’s education and cloud sales businesses in India.
Her appointment comes as global AI companies accelerate efforts to establish early leadership positions in India, a market increasingly viewed as critical for talent, enterprise adoption and long-term growth.
Bengaluru office plans take shape
Anthropic’s India entry follows founder and chief executive Dario Amodei’s announcement in October last year that the company would open its first Indian office in Bengaluru. Amodei had made the announcement on October 7, days before meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the country.
The company is currently hiring in India, with three mid-level roles listed on its website, all focused on AI sales functions.
Amodei is also scheduled to deliver a keynote address at the AI Impact Summit organised by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in New Delhi on February 18 and 19.
In a statement announcing Ghose’s appointment, Anthropic said India is now its second-largest market, echoing similar comments previously made by rival OpenAI.
Rapid growth amid intensifying competition
Founded in January 2021, Anthropic rose to global prominence during the generative AI boom triggered by the public launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022. Over the past five years, the startup has raised $27.4 billion in funding.
According to a Reuters report dated January 7, the company has signed a term sheet to raise an additional $10 billion at a valuation of approximately $350 billion.
Its investor roster includes Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and the Qatar Investment Authority, among others.
Claude positioned as “safety-first” alternative
Amodei, who left OpenAI in December 2020 following disagreements with co-founder Sam Altman over AI governance and development priorities, has positioned Anthropic’s flagship model, Claude, as a safety-first alternative in the foundational AI space.
While the company does not disclose official usage numbers, Claude trails OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini in user scale. Earlier this month, public database Thunderbit reported that Claude had approximately 30 million monthly active users globally as of December 31, 2025.
By comparison, ChatGPT reported 800 million active users as of October 1 last year, while Google’s Gemini stood at around 650 million users.
“India’s AI ecosystem will shape global development”: Amodei
During his visit to India last year, Amodei underlined the strategic importance of the country to Anthropic’s long-term vision.
“India is compelling because of the scale of its technical talent… There is deep alignment between the challenges India is tackling and our mission as a company, from deploying AI across diverse languages and contexts, to building frameworks for responsible governance,” he said.
He added, “India's AI ecosystem will play a central role in how AI develops globally and democratically, and we’re looking forward to working with organizations in India to pave a path for how beneficial AI can be scaled in a way that serves everyone.”
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