Google and Amazon-backed startup Anthropic, creator of Claude language models, has announced plans for aggressive international expansion. Responding to growing demand from outside the US, the company intends to triple the number of employees in global markets and expand its core AI development team fivefold later this year.
This is a clear sign that the competition at the top of the artificial intelligence industry is entering a new global phase.
Anthropic’s business decisions are a direct response to their technology usage data. The company revealed that nearly 80% of the usage of Claude models takes place outside the US. What’s more, per capita engagement rates in countries such as South Korea, Australia and Singapore exceed those recorded in their home US market.
This trend has translated into impressive financial growth – according to the company’s figures, its revenues rose from around $1 billion at the start of the year to more than $5 billion in August.
This dynamic has prompted management to take concrete steps. Anthropic plans to recruit more than 100 new specialists in its European offices in Dublin, London and Zurich. At the same time, the company is preparing to open its first Asian branch in Tokyo, signalling its strategic interest in the region.
The global expansion is the responsibility of Chris Ciauri, who recently joined the company as managing director of international markets.
Anthropic’s position in the market is strengthened not only by demand, but also by strategic partnerships and a growing corporate customer base, which has grown from less than 1,000 to more than 300,000 in two years. Claude’s models, valued for their advanced code generation and analysis capabilities among other things, are seen as one of the most serious alternatives to competitors’ solutions.
Confirming the company’s growing role in the AI ecosystem is the recent announcement of a strategic partnership with Microsoft. The Redmond-based conglomerate will integrate Claude models into its Copilot assistant, a significant change given the product’s hitherto almost exclusive reliance on OpenAI technology.
For Anthropic, this is not only a confirmation of the quality of their models, but also the opening of a powerful new distribution channel that can significantly accelerate the battle for market share in the global generative AI market.
