Anthropic appointed Irina Ghose, former Microsoft India managing director, to lead its India business as the company prepares to open an office in Bengaluru. Ghose, with 24 years at Microsoft until December 2025, provides big-tech operating experience and local enterprise and government relationships.
Ghose spent 24 years at Microsoft, rising to managing director for India before her departure. Her extensive tenure equipped her with operational expertise in the Indian market. This background positions her to establish Anthropic’s on-the-ground presence in Bengaluru, targeting one of the world’s fastest-growing AI markets through established connections with enterprises and government entities.
India ranks as Anthropic’s second-largest user base for its Claude AI model. Usage in the country centers on technical and work-related tasks, such as software development. This concentration reflects enterprise-oriented applications driving adoption.
OpenAI plans to open an office in New Delhi, directing resources toward India amid the global competition to commercialize generative AI. Both companies recognize India’s scale, with more than one billion internet subscribers and over 700 million smartphone users providing vast potential reach.
Monetizing this scale remains challenging for AI firms. Companies respond with aggressive pricing strategies and promotions. OpenAI launched ChatGPT Go, priced under $5 monthly to draw Indian users, and subsequently offered it free for one year exclusively in the country.
Anthropic observes parallel trends. Its Claude app saw downloads in India rise 48 percent year-over-year in September, totaling approximately 767,000 installs. Consumer spending on the app jumped 572 percent to $195,000 that month, according to Appfigures data. This figure contrasts with United States spending of $2.5 million in September.
Anthropic’s chief executive, Dario Amodei, visited India in October. He met corporate executives, lawmakers, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Discussions covered the company’s expansion plans and increasing adoption of its AI tools among users.
Anthropic pursued a potential partnership with Reliance Industries, owned by Mukesh Ambani, to expand Claude access. Reliance instead finalized a deal with Google, providing Google’s AI Pro plan free to Jio subscribers.
Bharti Airtel formed a partnership with Perplexity, bundling access to Perplexity’s premium subscription for Airtel customers. These arrangements demonstrate telecom giants’ role as distribution channels for consumer AI services in India.
In her LinkedIn post announcing the appointment, Ghose outlined her priorities. She plans to collaborate with Indian enterprises, developers, and startups using Claude for mission-critical use cases. Ghose highlighted demand for high-trust, enterprise-grade AI. She described AI tailored to local languages as a force multiplier across sectors including education and healthcare.
