Anthropic co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei is visiting India this week, and is planning to set up an office in Bengaluru and consider a partnership with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries, according to a study by TechCrunch. The move shows that AI startups are looking to further their presence in the second largest market after the US.
Officials told TechCrunch that Amodei will visit Mumbai to meet Ambani and other senior executives of Reliance Industries, the parent company of Reliance Geo, the country’s top telecom operator, as well as other senior executives. Anthropic has been in discussions with Reliance for some time on the possibility of a partnership to expand access to Claude AI assistants in India, officials said.
India is the world’s second largest online market after China, with over 1 billion internet subscribers, but it has emerged as an important growth region for Anthropic. Some Indian AI startups have already used the Claude model for products for both domestic and US customers. India holds the second-highest share of traffic to Claude’s website after the US, according to digital intelligence company Simirweb.
In August, Reliance Industries partnered with leading technology companies, including existing investors Google and Meta, to build AI infrastructure and enterprise solutions through its new division, Reliance Intelligence. The Mumbai-based conglomerate is also exploring the possibility of working with OpenAI, which announced earlier this year that it would launch a ChatGPT plan for under $5 in India and open an office in New Delhi in the second half of 2025.
The Reliance and OpenAI partnership was scheduled to be announced during OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s scheduled visit to India last month, but Altman ultimately postponed his visit to India.
Reliance Industries did not respond to a request for comment. TechCrunch also contacted OpenAI for comment.
According to sources, Amodei will visit New Delhi with Mumbai to meet with leading MPs and senior federal officials. Two people familiar with his trip planning told TechCrunch that he will also meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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Later in the week, Amodei visited Bangalore and announced that Anthropic’s office will be opened on Thursday, a source told TechCrunch. Guillaume Princen, head of Anthropic EMEA, and Daniel Delaney, head of startups, will also be accompanied by the team. Prominent venture funds such as Accel and Lightspeed will also host dedicated sessions with Anthropic executives this week, sharing insights into how developers and startups can leverage Claude for their services.
According to Appfigures, Anthropic’s Claude app, available on iOS and Android, saw a 48% increase in downloads in India in September, reaching around 767,000 installs this year. According to data, consumer spending on Indian apps skyrocketed 572% year-on-year, generating $195,000 in September alone.
However, India’s figures remain modest when compared to the US, where downloads increased 91% year-on-year and consumer spending increased by 604%. According to Appfigures, US users spent $2.5 million on the Claude app in September. That same month, globally, the app’s downloads rose 74% to 1.01 million, and consumer spending rose 546% to $5.62 million.
Unlike OpenAI, which aims to establish a sales and marketing structure while overseeing policy updates from New Delhi, Anthropic plans to have an office in Bangalore and target developers and start-ups.
Anthropic’s biggest use is from India, the founder, who works closely with AI companies, told TechCrunch on condition of anonymity.
Along with Anthropic and OpenAI, Perplexity is also aiming to develop the Indian market. The company has partnered with Indian telecom operator Bharti Airtel to offer Perplexity Pro subscriptions to more than 360 million Airtel customers for 12 months. The AI search startup has improved its products for local users, including publishing a live financial statement transcript for Indian equities to further increase engagement from India.
Anthropic did not respond to a request for comment.
