Anthropic and Hg agree to back European AI consultancy, FT reports

Anthropic and London-based private-equity firm Hg have agreed to back an independent European AI consultancy, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. If launched, the company would give Anthropic a European services channel for businesses adopting its AI. Neither company has publicly confirmed the agreement.

The planned consultancy would place AI consultants and engineers inside European businesses, including Hg portfolio companies, to design new AI products or support existing projects, the people told the Financial Times. The firm is expected to launch by the end of 2026, operate hubs in London and Berlin, and target corporate clients including business-software companies and other white-collar organizations, according to the report.

Anthropic would contribute balance-sheet capital, while Hg would invest through funds it manages, including London-listed HgCapital Trust, the Financial Times reported. The report did not disclose the venture’s name, ownership split, investment amounts, leadership or headcount. It said the consultancy would remain separate from Hg’s existing team of 150 AI specialists.

The proposed venture would extend an existing relationship. In September, Hg said it had worked with Anthropic since early 2024 on projects including embedded deployments across its portfolio. Hg said its portfolio companies had more than 1,600 live AI projects representing more than $260 million in budgeted EBITDA impact.

Anthropic has used a separately backed services company to expand deployment capacity elsewhere. In May, Anthropic announced an AI services company with Blackstone, Hellman & Friedman and Goldman Sachs for mid-sized businesses, with engineers supporting Claude deployments alongside customers. Anthropic and Hg declined to comment to the Financial Times about the reported European venture.