Anthropic has agreed to back a new consultancy that will help European companies put AI to work, alongside the London private equity firm Hg, the Financial Times reported on 23 October. According to the report, Anthropic will fund its part from its own balance sheet and Hg will invest through its funds. The firm is expected to have bases in London and Berlin and to launch by the end of the year. Hg declined to comment, and Anthropic had not commented when the report was published.
Why it matters: if confirmed, it would be the first time an AI model maker has set up a separate business to sell AI expertise to companies in Europe, putting it in competition with the big consulting firms it also supplies. The FT reported that the partners aim to build a company worth more than $10 billion within five years. Shares in the consultancy Accenture fell more than 4% on the day of the report, City AM noted. Read City AM’s summary of the FT report.