Anthropic, a U.S.-based artificial intelligence start-up, has partnered with London-headquartered private equity firm Hg to establish a new European consultancy business focused on embedding AI expertise into companies across the continent. The agreement marks Anthropic’s first European-headquartered venture aimed at selling AI services directly to businesses in the region.

According to sources familiar with the arrangement, the newly formed independent company will deploy AI consultants and engineers to work within client organizations, helping design new AI-driven products or enhance existing initiatives. The firm will also support Hg’s portfolio companies, leveraging the private equity group’s extensive software investments.

The consultancy, expected to launch by the end of 2026, plans to base operations in London and Berlin, targeting software companies serving business clients and other professional sectors. Hg currently maintains a team of around 150 AI specialists who integrate artificial intelligence into its holdings; however, the new venture will operate separately from this existing group.

This collaboration exemplifies broader efforts by European investors and policymakers to accelerate AI adoption and catch up with U.S. developments in the technology. In the United States, Anthropic joined private equity giants Blackstone and Hellman & Friedman earlier this year to launch Ode, a standalone AI service company backed by $1.5 billion in planned investment. Other major investors in Ode include Goldman Sachs and Apollo Global Management.

Anthropic’s competitor OpenAI has also initiated a similar enterprise, the OpenAI Deployment Company, formed in May alongside private equity firms TPG, Advent, Bain Capital, and Brookfield, with the goal of advancing deployment of OpenAI’s products.

Founded by Dario Amodei, Anthropic has been collaborating with Hg’s portfolio companies since 2024, as well as other European buyout firms. The newly announced consultancy represents the first time Anthropic has financially backed an independent European consulting entity. Anthropic will contribute capital from its balance sheet, while Hg will invest through funds it manages, including its London-listed HgCapital Trust.

The partnership comes amid mounting pressure on AI firms like Anthropic to generate sustainable revenue streams to justify substantial investments in data center infrastructure and support anticipated initial public offerings. Recently reported data suggest that Anthropic’s revenue growth slowed in the third quarter of 2026, underscoring the challenge of converting AI innovation into steady financial returns.

The emergence of dedicated AI consultancies by start-ups such as Anthropic signals potential disruption to traditional IT consulting firms, including Accenture and the Big Four professional services groups—Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC—which currently dominate technology advisory services.

Both Anthropic and Hg declined to provide comments on the new joint venture.