Anthropic and Hg to Launch AI Consultancy for European Firms

Anthropic plans to support a new, independent AI consulting company in Europe with Hg, a London-based investment firm. This will be Anthropic's first project of this kind in Europe. People who know about the deal say the company should launch by the end of 2026.

Key Points

• Anthropic and Hg will set up a separate company. Its AI experts and engineers will work directly inside European businesses to help them create products.
• The new company will have offices in London and Berlin. It will work with software companies that sell to other businesses and companies that mainly employ office workers.
• Anthropic will invest money from its own funds. Hg will invest money through funds it manages, including HgCapital Trust, which is listed on the London stock market.
• Anthropic started a similar US company called Ode earlier this year with Blackstone and Hellman & Friedman. The partners planned to invest $1.5 billion.

Engineers will work directly inside client companies

The AI experts will help businesses design new AI products or improve projects that have already started, according to people familiar with the plans. The new company will also work with businesses owned by Hg.

The Financial Times first reported the news. This is the first independent AI consulting company Anthropic has supported in Europe. Anthropic has worked with companies backed by Hg since 2024. It also works with other European investment firms that buy businesses.

The Financial Times reported that Anthropic has agreed to support a new European consulting company with investment firm Hg. This is Anthropic's first effort to create a separate business that sells AI knowledge and services to European companies. [https://t.co/H9nTbOmMEB](https://t.co/H9nTbOmMEB) [https://t.co/mNl37ZxqDp](https://t.co/mNl37ZxqDp)

— Financial Times (@FT) October 23, 2026

Hg already has 150 AI experts who help the companies it owns use AI. One person said the new business will not replace this team. That means companies already getting help from these experts will continue receiving the same support.

A pattern is now becoming clear. Two leading US AI companies are joining forces with investment firms and sending engineers to work directly with businesses:

• OpenAI Deployment Company (May): OpenAI joined TPG, Advent, Bain Capital and Brookfield to help businesses make AI part of their everyday operations.
• Ode (July): Anthropic joined Blackstone and Hellman & Friedman. Goldman Sachs, Apollo Global Management and General Atlantic were among the other investors supporting the company.
• Anthropic and Hg (by the end of the year): The partners plan to create a European company that can work directly with businesses Hg already owns.

These new companies will compete with Accenture and the four biggest accounting and consulting firms: Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC. These firms make large amounts of money helping businesses use new technology. Now AI companies that send their own engineers to help clients can compete for that same money.

Anthropic needs more income before selling shares to the public

The timing is important. Anthropic wants to earn more money to help explain why it is spending so much on data centers. It also wants investors to support its planned IPO, when it will offer shares to the public for the first time. Investors are worried that AI companies may be valued too highly. Anthropic's revenue was still growing in the third quarter, but more slowly than before.

According to media reports, Anthropic could make its official document for potential investors public as soon as today. The company is aiming to list its shares in November, although that plan could still change. Reports say some current and potential investors are considering a company value of about $1.5 trillion. That is lower than the roughly $2 trillion discussed earlier.

A draft of the investor document reportedly showed that Anthropic lost $80.7 billion in the first six months of 2026. That compares with a loss of $13 billion during the same period a year earlier. About $72 billion of the newer loss came from an accounting charge that did not involve money actually being paid out. The charge was linked to a higher estimated value for bonds that can be turned into shares and other financial agreements used to raise money.

What is still unknown

The reports do not answer several important questions. How much money will each partner invest? How much of the new company will each partner own? And who will be in charge? The answers will help show how much Anthropic is willing to spend helping businesses use AI while also asking public investors to support its large expenses.

Hg also has reasons to join the project. Earlier this year, worries about AI caused investors to sell software company shares, pushing their prices down. Since then, investment firms that own businesses have tried to show that companies they bought over the past ten years can successfully use AI and become AI-focused businesses. Hg has still managed to find buyers for some of its companies. It sold Gen II to KKR for more than $5 billion and Quantios to Vista Equity Partners for about £400 million. The new company's offices in London and Berlin are expected to open before the end of the year.