Anthropic and London-based private equity firm Hg have agreed to create an independent European AI consultancy, following Anthropic’s comparable US initiative with $1.5 billion in planned investment, Traders Union reported on 23 October. The planned company is expected to open by the end of 2026, with hubs in London and Berlin. It would put consultants and engineers inside European businesses to help develop AI products and support projects already under way.
Key points
- Anthropic plans to contribute balance-sheet capital; Hg would invest through funds it manages, including London-listed HgCapital Trust.
- The consultancy is expected to serve business software companies and other white-collar sectors, including businesses in Hg’s portfolio.
- Hg already has 150 AI specialists working across its portfolio, an operation the new company is not expected to replace.
- OpenAI began a separate consultancy joint venture with four investment firms in May.
London and Berlin hubs planned for 2026
The proposed consultancy would concentrate on software suppliers to business customers and other organisations whose work is largely office-based. Its staff would work within client businesses rather than advise them solely from the planned hubs. Engineers are expected to help those companies build AI-based products or work on projects the companies have already started.
The new company is also expected to work with businesses owned by Hg, according to the report. That gives the private equity firm a group of potential users alongside the wider European market the consultancy plans to serve. Hg has an existing team of 150 AI experts working across its portfolio companies. A person cited in the report said the consultancy would not replace that team.
The distinction matters to Hg’s portfolio companies: the existing specialists and the proposed consultancy are separate operations under the reported plan. The latter would combine Anthropic’s participation with capital from Hg-managed funds and place staff inside customer organisations. The venture is expected to start operating by the end of 2026.
Anthropic and Hg set out investment structure
Anthropic is contributing capital from its balance sheet to the planned company. Hg would invest through funds it manages, among them HgCapital Trust, a London-listed investment vehicle. The reported arrangement makes both parties financial backers of a standalone consultancy, rather than describing a contract under which Hg buys advisory work for its portfolio.
Anthropic pursued a similar standalone services company in the US earlier in 2026 with Blackstone and Hellman & Friedman. That initiative carries $1.5 billion in planned investment. The figure belongs to the US project, while the European company is being established with a different investment group and a stated focus on placing consultants and engineers with businesses across Europe.
For Anthropic, the consultancy represents another potential revenue source alongside its model business, Traders Union reported. The company is seeking to support substantial data-centre spending and build momentum for a planned initial public offering. Hg’s participation also connects the venture to a portfolio in which its existing specialists already work on AI adoption.
OpenAI and established consultancies face another entrant
Anthropic’s rival OpenAI began its own joint venture in May with TPG, Advent, Bain Capital and Brookfield. The European plan would put Anthropic into advisory and deployment work alongside its model development, following the US services company formed with its two investment partners.
The planned business would also enter a market served by Accenture, Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC. Its proposed approach centres on assigning consultants and engineers to companies developing products or working through existing AI projects. For Hg, that includes a possible role with its portfolio companies as well as work for other European businesses.
European investors and policymakers are seeking faster adoption of AI across the region and a narrower development gap with the US. The Anthropic-Hg company is expected to begin operating by the end of 2026 from hubs in London and Berlin.
