India has ‘absolutely central role’ in shaping AI future, says Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei

New Delhi:

At the AI Impact Summit 2026, which is taking place at Bharat Mandapam (New Delhi), Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, emphasised that India will play a decisive role in shaping both the opportunities and risks of advanced artificial intelligence systems.

Calling India’s position as ‘absolutely central’, Amodei stated that India, as the world’s largest democracy, could lead global discussions on economic, societal and security challenges that are emerging from powerful AI models.
During his address, Amodei further said, “India has an absolutely central role to play in these questions and challenges, both on the side of the opportunities and on the side of the risks.”

‘Country of geniuses in a data centre’

• Amodei further stated that the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence is exponential, comparing it to a “Moore’s Law for intelligence".
• According to him, AI systems are moving faster and closer, surpassing human cognitive abilities in several areas.
• He said, “We’re increasingly close to what I’ve called a country of geniuses in a data centre — a set of AI agents more capable than most humans at most things.” 
• While AI advancements could help to cure multiple diseases and improve the healthcare sector and outcomes, It could easily reduce poverty across the globe and warn about serious risks easily. 
• The AI advancement will include autonomous AI behaviour, potential misuse by governments or individuals, and economic disruption due to automation.

Anthropic expands its India presence by opening a new office in Bengaluru

Signalling a stronger commitment to India, Anthropic has announced that the opening of its new office in Bengaluru is a step ahead to show the company’s hope and trust for the Indian market’s growth. The company also announced Irina Ghose will be working as the Managing Director for Anthropic India.

The AI leader has partnered with major Indian enterprises, including Infosys, in order to drive practical AI adoption across industries. The collaboration will further focus on digital infrastructure, India-specific AI applications and enterprise transformation in the country.

Anthropic is further working with a number of non-profit organisations in India, like the EkStep Foundation, the Central Square Foundation and Pratham– aiming to deploy AI in education, agriculture and healthcare sectors.

Focus on regional languages and local needs

The company is partnering with global and Indian institutions to evaluate its Claude AI model across regional languages of India and tasks that are relevant to agriculture, legal services and education.
Amodei noted that innovations have been pioneered in India, and it is often serving as a model for others who are developing, especially across the Global South.

Safety and policy collaboration: Anthropic and India

Amodei also mentioned that Anthropic is keen to collaborate with Indian policymakers on AI safety testing and economic research under the New Delhi Frontier AI commitments. He also thanked Narendra Modi for organising the summit, describing the energy and ambition in India’s tech ecosystem as ‘palpable, unlike anywhere else.’

With growing global influence and expanding AI investments, India is emerging as a central player in shaping the future of artificial intelligence.

Inputs from ANI