Anthropic and Hg to launch AI consultancy for European firms

A new consultancy for Europe

Anthropic and the London-based private equity firm Hg have reached an agreement to create an independent company. This new entity will focus on embedding consultants and engineers directly into European businesses to assist with the deployment of artificial intelligence. The goal is to provide hands-on support for firms looking to integrate these technologies into their existing operations.

According to a report by the Financial Times, the new consultancy is expected to begin its operations by the end of the year. It will establish primary hubs in two major European cities: London and Berlin. This geographic focus suggests a targeted effort to capture the growing demand for AI infrastructure across the continent.

Neither Anthropic nor Hg provided an immediate response to a request for comment from PYMNTS.com regarding the specific details of the launch. However, the move represents a significant step in how these two organizations plan to interact with the broader corporate market in the coming months.

Building on a long-term bond

The collaboration between Anthropic and Hg is not a new development but rather an extension of a relationship that has lasted for three years. During this time, the two companies have worked together on various initiatives, including a series of joint AI hackathons. They have also focused on staff enablement within Hg's own business to ensure their team can effectively use the technology.

In September, Hg announced that it had expanded its work with Anthropic to provide its portfolio companies with agentic AI features. Agentic AI refers to systems that can take actions to achieve specific goals autonomously. Hg Co-CEOs Steve Batchelor and JB Brian stated that their relationship with Anthropic is central to their strategy for this shift.

The leadership at Hg expressed a desire for their portfolio companies to have a direct line to the frontier of AI technology. As AI continues to reshape how software businesses build and compete, the firm wants to ensure its investments are positioned to succeed. This partnership provides a structured way for those companies to access high-level expertise and tools.

The demand for AI engineers

The creation of this consultancy comes at a time of rapid growth in the demand for specialized technical roles. Reports indicate that monthly job listings for forward-deployed engineers increased by more than 800% between January and September 2025. Forward-deployed engineers are professionals who work on-site with customers to implement and customize complex systems.

This surge in hiring shows how quickly companies are moving to create dedicated roles for implementing AI systems inside their enterprises. Rather than just using off-the-shelf software, many organizations are seeking specialized help to build custom workflows. The new consultancy by Anthropic and Hg aims to fill this specific gap in the market by providing these experts directly to clients.

By embedding these engineers into the fabric of a business, the consultancy helps bridge the gap between having an AI model and actually using it to improve productivity. This approach allows for a deeper level of integration than a standard software purchase. It ensures that the technology is tailored to the specific needs and constraints of the individual company.

Expanding the AI ecosystem

Anthropic has been active in building a network of partners to help its Claude AI model reach large enterprises. In May, the company collaborated with Goldman Sachs, Blackstone, and Hellman & Friedman to start a venture. This initiative was designed to help enterprise companies embed Claude into their daily business processes.

Anthropic Chief Financial Officer Krishna Rao noted that partnerships with leading systems integrators are central to how the model reaches large organizations. He stated that this new firm provides the ecosystem with extra operational capacity and funding from prominent alternative asset managers. This highlights the importance of combining technical expertise with the financial backing of private equity.

The move also reflects a competitive landscape where major players are vying for dominance in the enterprise AI space. Anthropic's rival, OpenAI, recently committed up to $1.5 billion for a private equity venture as part of a plan to overtake Anthropic in selling AI tools to businesses. This competition underscores the high stakes involved in providing enterprise-grade AI solutions.

Investment and competition

The race to secure the enterprise market involves massive amounts of capital from some of the world's largest investment firms. Reports from April indicated that a group of firms including TPG, Bain Capital, Advent International, Brookfield, and Goanna Capital would invest an additional $4 billion. These investments are aimed at scaling the infrastructure and services needed to make AI accessible to mainstream businesses.

For Anthropic, the partnership with Hg provides a strategic advantage by combining their frontier AI models with Hg's deep experience in private equity and portfolio management. It allows them to move beyond just providing the technology to providing the human capital and strategic guidance required for success. This multi-layered approach is becoming the standard for how AI companies aim to capture the corporate market.

As the consultancy launches in London and Berlin, it will serve as a primary example of this trend. By providing a direct line to the frontier of AI, Anthropic and Hg are positioning themselves as essential partners for European firms. The success of this venture will likely depend on how effectively they can translate complex AI capabilities into practical, everyday business value.