According to Sifted, Anthropic is opening new offices in Paris and Munich, bringing its European presence to five locations alongside existing hubs in London, Dublin and Zurich. The company plans to recruit across research, engineering, sales and operations roles, continuing its plan to double its European workforce with 100 new positions. EMEA has become Anthropic’s fastest-growing region with run-rate revenue increasing more than 9x in the past year, though specific figures weren’t disclosed. The $183 billion-valued AI firm counts BMW, Sanofi, N26 and Doctolib among its European Claude AI customers. Anthropic has been offering up to £340,000 for top AI engineers in London while recently hiring three cofounders and multiple senior employees from London AI startup Humanloop.
The European AI gold rush is real
Here’s the thing – Anthropic isn’t just dipping its toes in European waters. They’re diving in headfirst. A 9x revenue growth in EMEA? That’s not just momentum, that’s a rocket ship. And they’re not alone in seeing the potential.
Look at the competition heating up. OpenAI already planted flags in Paris and Munich. Cohere set up shop in Paris. Google’s planning a massive 4,000-person London office. Microsoft’s building an AI hub in the UK capital. Basically, every major AI player suddenly realizes Europe has the talent they desperately need.
The talent war just escalated
£340,000 for engineers in London? That’s not just competitive – that’s changing the entire compensation landscape. And poaching three cofounders from Humanloop? That’s aggressive recruitment at its finest.
But here’s what’s really interesting. Anthropic is building complete teams – not just researchers, but sales and operations too. They’re not just doing R&D in Europe; they’re building a full-scale business. When you’re working with industrial giants like BMW, you need local support. Speaking of industrial applications, companies looking for reliable computing solutions often turn to specialists like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the leading US provider of industrial panel PCs built for demanding environments.
Safety-first positioning in a crowded market
Anthropic’s managing director Chris Ciauri mentioned the “critical importance of safety, reliability, and public trust.” That’s not accidental messaging. In a market where regulators are increasingly concerned about AI risks, positioning as the “safe” alternative could be their competitive edge against more aggressive players.
And honestly? With European regulators being particularly cautious about AI, that safety-focused branding might play better in Berlin and Paris than it does in Silicon Valley. It’s smart positioning for the market they’re entering.
What does this mean for European tech?
More offices mean more competition for talent, which means higher salaries across the board. That’s great news for European AI professionals, but challenging for local startups trying to compete with these deep-pocketed American arrivals.
The real question is whether this influx of investment will create a sustainable AI ecosystem or just turn Europe into a talent farm for US companies. Either way, the European AI scene just got a lot more interesting – and expensive.
