Claude Creator Anthropic Plans India Push, May Partner with Reliance

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is visiting India with plans to establish a Bengaluru office and explore a partnership with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries. The move comes as Anthropic expands access to its Claude AI app in the country and positions itself against competitors that are also deepening local operations.

In the course of his trip to India, Dario Amodei will visit Mumbai, where he will meet with Reliance executives, and visit New Delhi, where he will have negotiations with senior government officials, including those at the central level. He is then expected to be in Bengaluru to announce the opening of Anthropic’s local office, joined by Guillaume Princen, EMEA Head, Anthropic, and Daniel Delaney, Head of Startups, Anthropic.

The stated objectives are straightforward: anchor Anthropic’s presence in India, explore a strategic tie-up with Reliance, and accelerate adoption among local developers and start-ups.

In the report, the Appfigures data indicate that Claude is gaining momentum in India: in September, downloads grew by 48 per cent annually, and this year, 767,000 people have already installed the application. Consumer spending on the app also climbed 572% year-on-year, generating $195,000 in September alone. Anthropic’s current consumer plans — a Pro tier at $17/month and a Max tier at $100/month — sit alongside a free access tier that requires a paid plan for extended access or top-end models.

Those metrics underpin Anthropic’s rationale for a local office: closer market engagement and faster product iteration where user uptake is rising.

Anthropic’s push comes as its rival OpenAI has also increased activity in India, including plans for an office in New Delhi and local hiring efforts. The two companies are therefore racing to capture developer mindshare and consumer spend in what each treats as a strategically important market after the U.S.

A local Anthropic office and a potential Reliance partnership would directly shape how Claude’s services are distributed, localised, and commercialised in India.

What This Might Imply for Developers and Startups

Having a presence in Bengaluru could reduce business and technical cycles of Indian developers and startups by making it easier to integrate with enterprises for more localised assistance with product experimentation. The fact that Anthropic noted that it is targeting developers and startups implies that the company will be focused on establishing partner channels and developer outreach at its new location.

Meanwhile, the new delegations in New Delhi are an indicator that they want to work with the policymakers, which can affect the regulatory and compliance aspects since they are Anthropic scales in the market.

The announced initiatives present direction and a roadmap: the office opening, Reliance meetings, and specific interaction with developers. The existing usage and revenue metrics show an increase in consumer interest; however, conversion of downloads and short-term expenditure into long-term enterprise usage will require implementation talent to include partnerships, local support, pricing strategy, and regulatory certainty

The India push by Anthropic, which is anchored by an office in Bengaluru and may have a tie-up with Reliance, is part of a wider strategy to localise operations where demand and developer activity on products are on the rise. The following steps will help identify the ability of the firm to sustain initial momentum into long-term market presence along with the established and new competitors.