A deployment business built on an existing partnership
The venture would be Anthropic's first standalone consultancy in Europe. Its teams would help clients incorporate AI into their current workflows and develop products using the technology, extending Anthropic's role beyond providing models.
Anthropic will fund its contribution from its balance sheet, while Hg will invest through funds it manages. The partnership brings together Anthropic's engineering expertise and AI technology with Hg's experience backing software and services companies.
Hg's portfolio offers a potential route for deploying Anthropic's technology. The firm already has a 150-person internal AI team working with its portfolio companies; people cited by Sina Finance said the consultancy is not expected to replace that team.
In a September 21, 2026, press release, Hg described its collaboration with Anthropic as spanning three years and dating to early 2024. Hg said it was among the first private equity firms worldwide to work directly with a frontier AI lab.
The firm also reported more than 1,600 active AI projects across its portfolio, with over $260 million in budgeted EBITDA impact. Hg characterized that impact as a fivefold increase over the period covered by its collaboration update.
Hg's portfolio and recent deals
Hg reported in September that it managed more than $110 billion in assets and employed over 400 people. Its roughly 60 portfolio businesses had a combined enterprise value exceeding $195 billion, employed more than 140,000 people and were growing revenue by more than 16% annually, according to the firm.
The partnership follows several recent disposals by Hg. Sina Finance reported that, in the preceding months, the firm sold fund-services business Gen II to KKR for more than $5 billion and software company Quantios to Vista Equity Partners for about £400 million.
AI developers move into implementation
The European venture would expand Anthropic's presence in a market traditionally served by IT consultancies. AI developers are building delivery teams of their own to help customers move from experiments to operational systems, putting them in closer competition with established technology advisers.
Anthropic already has a U.S. counterpart: Ode with Anthropic, an independent AI services company introduced in July. TechCrunch described it as a $1.5 billion AI implementation business, a figure also reported by Sina Finance. Ode pairs Anthropic's models with engineers who help companies identify and implement practical uses for AI.
Blackstone and Hellman & Friedman are Ode's founding partners alongside Anthropic. Its July 15, 2026, launch release named Goldman Sachs, General Atlantic, Leonard Green & Partners, Apollo Global Management, GIC and Sequoia Capital as additional members of the investor consortium.
Ode was built around Fractional AI, an applied AI services firm acquired in May 2026, according to the release. Fractional AI co-founders Chris Taylor and Eddie Siegel became Ode's CEO and CTO, respectively, retaining the roles they held at the acquired business.
As of July, Ode had 100 engineers, TechCrunch reported. It follows a "Claude-first" approach, using Anthropic's technology wherever possible while retaining the option to use competing AI products when needed.
OpenAI has taken a similar route. Its OpenAI Deployment Company, launched in May 2026, helps businesses build AI systems and integrate them into core operations. According to Sina Finance, OpenAI established the venture with TPG, Advent, Bain Capital and Brookfield.
Consulting expansion ahead of a possible IPO
Anthropic is pursuing the European consultancy as it prepares for a possible stock market debut. The offering could test investor demand for AI companies amid scrutiny of valuations and the expense of developing advanced models.
Media reports said Anthropic could publish its IPO prospectus as early as Friday, October 23, with a potential listing targeted for November. That schedule remains subject to change.
Following new financial disclosures and scrutiny of AI development costs, some existing and prospective investors are reportedly weighing a valuation near $1.5 trillion, down from the roughly $2 trillion previously discussed.
A draft prospectus reportedly put Anthropic's net loss for the first half of 2026 at $80.7 billion, versus $13 billion in the same period a year earlier. About $72 billion of the latest loss reflected a non-cash accounting charge arising from higher estimated values for convertible bonds and other financing instruments, rather than operating expenses.
