Anthropic and Hg reportedly plan AI consultancy for European firms

Anthropic plans to help fund a new AI consulting company in Europe with Hg, a London-based investment firm that buys and invests in private companies. The Financial Times reported the plans.

The new company will operate independently. It will send AI engineers and advisers to work directly inside other businesses, helping them build and start using AI technology.

The Financial Times based its report on people who know about the plans. Anthropic and Hg both declined to comment when the newspaper contacted them.

The new company's engineers will help businesses create new products that use AI. They will also help with AI projects that companies have already started. According to people familiar with the plans, the consulting company will also work with businesses owned by Hg.

The company is expected to start operating by the end of 2026. It plans to have offices in London and Berlin. It will mainly work with software companies that sell products to other businesses, as well as companies in other industries where people mostly do office-based work.

Anthropic will pay for its part of the new company using its own money. Hg will invest money from the investment funds it manages, including HgCapital Trust, which is listed on the London stock market.

This would be the first time Anthropic has invested in an independent consulting company in Europe. Anthropic has already been working with businesses owned by Hg since 2024. It has also worked with other European investment firms that buy and invest in private companies.

Hg already has about 150 AI experts who help the businesses it owns start using AI technology. One person familiar with the plans told the Financial Times that the new consulting company is expected to work alongside this existing team, rather than take its place.

Anthropic has already followed a similar plan in the United States. Earlier in 2026, it created Ode, a company that helps businesses use AI. Ode is backed by the investment firms Blackstone and Hellman & Friedman, with $1.5 billion in planned investment. Goldman Sachs and Apollo Global were also among the investors.

OpenAI has done something similar. In May, it started the OpenAI Deployment Company together with four investment firms: TPG, Advent, Bain Capital and Brookfield.

These new companies mean AI developers are starting to compete more directly with established technology consulting businesses, including Accenture and the four major accounting firms known as the Big Four: Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC. The Financial Times pointed out that helping businesses decide how to use new technology already brings in a lot of money for these companies.

For Anthropic, the new European company could also provide another way to earn money. Anthropic is spending large amounts on data centres, which are buildings full of computers needed to run AI systems. The company is doing this as it prepares for a planned stock market listing, which would allow investors to buy shares in the business. The Financial Times also reported last week that Anthropic's revenue was still growing in the third quarter, but at a slower rate than before.