US AI company Anthropic hires Irina Ghose as India managing director

US-based AI safety and research firm Anthropic on Friday signalled a major step in its India journey, announcing the appointment of Irina Ghose as managing director for the Indian market, ahead of the opening of its first office in the country.

A seasoned technology leader, Ghose brings more than three decades of experience in building and scaling technology-driven enterprises. Most recently, she served as managing director of Microsoft India, where she played a pivotal role in steering enterprise AI adoption across some of the country’s most critical sectors, including banking and financial services, healthcare, manufacturing and government.

“India has a real opportunity to shape how AI is built and deployed at scale,” Ghose said, noting that Indian organisations are rapidly moving beyond experimentation toward applied AI — a phase where trust, safety and long-term impact are as vital as innovation itself.

She added that Anthropic’s mission aligns closely with her own belief that technology should empower people, expand access, and create lasting value across India’s diverse languages, industries and communities.

During her tenure at Microsoft, Ghose led high-impact teams, forged strong ecosystem partnerships and championed future-ready capabilities across India’s technology landscape, with a consistent focus on harnessing innovation for both business transformation and societal good.

Welcoming her appointment, Chris Ciauri, managing director of International at Anthropic, said Ghose’s expertise in scaling technology businesses and driving enterprise transformation makes her “the ideal leader” as the company deepens its presence in India.

India already stands as Anthropic’s second-largest global market for Claude.ai, underscoring the strategic importance of the region. As the company expands its teams and strengthens engagement across India’s public and private sectors, Ciauri said Ghose’s leadership would ensure Anthropic’s approach remains firmly rooted in local insight while staying true to its core mission.

Anthropic said its India team will work closely with policymakers and academic institutions, nurture developer communities, and build partnerships with enterprises and organisations deploying AI to address local challenges.

The company’s latest Economic Index highlights India’s distinctive AI usage patterns, revealing a strong tilt toward technical applications, with nearly half of all Claude.ai usage in the country devoted to computer science and mathematical tasks — a testament to India’s growing role in shaping the future of applied artificial intelligence.

With IANS inputs