The AI darling is planting a flag in Australia and New Zealand at a moment when its flagship chatbot is breaking user records, following a very public falling-out with the Trump administration.
Key Takeaways
- Anthropic is opening a Sydney office, its fourth in Asia-Pacific after Tokyo, Bengaluru, and Seoul.
- Australia ranks 4th globally in Claude.ai usage per capita; New Zealand ranks 8th.
- Claude mobile downloads jumped 55% week-on-week in early March, with over 1 million new sign-ups per day.
- Existing Australian customers include Canva, Commonwealth Bank, and Quantium.
- Anthropic is exploring local compute capacity to address data residency requirements from enterprises and government agencies.
Key Background
Anthropic announced on March 10 it will open a Sydney office in the coming weeks. An executive team visit to Australia is planned for late March to formalise partnerships and meet customers and policymakers.
The expansion comes as Claude is experiencing a notable jump in global usage. According to data from Similarweb, Claude recorded 11.3 million active users in a single day on March 2, a record.
Web visits climbed 43% month-on-month between January and February, reaching 290 million. Free active users are up 60% since the start of the year, and paid subscribers for Claude Pro and Max have doubled over the same period.
Some of that growth traces back to controversy.
In late February, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei objected to the US Defence Department using its technology for mass domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons.
President Trump responded on Truth Social by calling Anthropic a “radical left, woke company” and urged federal agencies to cut ties. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth designated Anthropic a supply chain risk to national security. Anthropic said the designation was legally unsound and announced it would challenge it in court.
Big Number
337,200 – The average daily Claude downloads for the week ending March 2, up from around 217,000 the week prior.
Crucial Quote
“We’re excited by the ways organizations in Australia and New Zealand are applying AI to areas of national importance – financial services, agricultural technology, clean energy innovation, healthcare delivery, cutting-edge deep tech and scientific research, along with AI transformation in the enterprise,” said Chris Ciauri, Managing Director of International, Anthropic
What to Watch For
Anthropic’s executive team will visit Australia later this month to meet with policymakers, customers and research partners as it formalises local partnerships tied to the Sydney launch.
Further announcements around Australian AI infrastructure or compute capacity may follow as those discussions progress.
Want to see more Forbes articles on your feed? Tap here to make Forbes Australia a preferred source on Google.
Look back on the week that was with hand-picked articles from Australia and around the world. Sign up to the Forbes Australia newsletter here or become a member here.
