Meet Irina Ghose, hired by AI startup Anthropic to lead its India operations

Anthropic is also expanding its India team, with the Claude maker posting job listings for various roles including startup and enterprise account executives.

Anthropic India MD Irina Ghose. (Express Image)

3 min readNew DelhiJan 20, 2026 09:07 AM IST First published on: Jan 19, 2026 at 12:48 PM IST

Anthropic has tapped Irina Ghose, a former managing director at Microsoft India, to lead the AI startup’s India operations as it prepares to set up its first office in the country.

Ghose previously worked at Microsoft India for 24 years before stepping down from her role in December 2025. She is said to have deep big-tech operating experience, which could make her a suitable pick as Anthropic’s managing director for India.

The tech industry executive confirmed her new role at Anthropic in a post on LinkedIn last week. “From digital natives and software firms to large enterprises and public-sector institutions, India is entering a phase of scaled deployment that will enhance competitive advantage and shape the future. AI tuned to local languages will be a force multiplier across society – from education and healthcare to workforce development and job skills,” Ghose said.

“I’m excited to connect with leaders, innovators and builders across India as we realize the full potential of Claude and unlock new possibilities together,” she added.

“Irina’s expertise in scaling technology businesses and driving enterprise transformation makes her the ideal leader as we expand. As we grow our teams and deepen engagement across India’s public and private sectors, Irina will ensure our approach is grounded in local insight and aligned with our mission,” Chris Ciauri, Managing Director of International at Anthropic, said.

Anthropic is also expanding its India team, with the Claude maker posting job listings for various roles including startup and enterprise account executives as well as a partner sales manager, according to a report by TechCrunch.

The move highlights how India is rapidly emerging as a key growth market for AI giants such as Anthropic and OpenAI that are looking to expand their user base beyond the United States.

Also Read | Anthropic takes on OpenAI with ‘Claude for Healthcare’, its own offering for doctors and patients

India is currently the second-largest market for the company’s AI chatbot Claude, with usage primarily focused on technical applications such as programming. The country is also home to more than a billion internet subscribers and over 700 million smartphone users.

Ghose’s appointment also comes ahead of the India-AI Impact Summit 2026, which is set to be held in New Delhi from February 15 to 20. Considered to be the first major AI-related gathering in the Global South, the Summit is expected to bring together heads of government, policymakers, AI startups, global CEOs, and industry experts to discuss AI governance.

In October last year, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei visited India and met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as India lawmakers and corporate leaders, to reportedly discuss the company’s expansion plans and growing adoption of its tools.

Anthropic’s Claude AI chatbot app has recorded a 48 per cent increase from the previous year in downloads in India as of September 2025, according to Appfigures. The app saw a total of 7,67,000 installations with consumer spending surging by 72 per cent to $195,000 for that month.