Anthropic is opening a Sydney office within weeks as it expands across Asia-Pacific. The Claude AI maker already operates offices in Tokyo, Bengaluru, and Seoul.
The company cited high per-capita Claude usage in Australia and New Zealand as the driver for local presence. Anthropic serves over 300,000 enterprise customers globally, with 80% of usage outside the US. ANZ clients include Commonwealth Bank, Canva, and Quantium.
What this means for sales teams
Anthropic is creating sales, research, engineering, and leadership roles in ANZ. The company has not disclosed specific headcount targets for Sydney, but globally it is tripling its workforce. That typically means AE and SDR hiring follows office launches.
The focus is enterprise, startup, and research accounts. Competitors include OpenAI. Anthropic differentiates on data sovereignty, 24/7 support, and focus on regulated sectors like banking, healthcare, and government.
For context: Anthropic raised over $18 billion in funding, including a $4 billion round from Amazon in 2024. The company grew from under 1,000 Claude users two years ago to 300,000 enterprise customers now. No CRO or VP Sales is named in public sources, though sales expansion is clearly prioritised.
The ANZ setup
The Sydney entity is registered as Anthropic Australia with directors Jeffrey Bleich (former US Ambassador and General Counsel) and David Cowper. The office will support Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea.
Chris Ciauri, managing director of international at Anthropic, said the company wants to develop partnerships in ANZ and ensure Claude is built for regional goals and challenges. The company highlighted Australian use cases in financial services, agtech, clean energy, healthcare, deep tech, and scientific research.
What to watch
Anthropic has not published OTE ranges or sales team structure for ANZ. When enterprise AI companies open local offices, AE hiring typically follows within 90 days. Worth tracking: whether Anthropic posts ANZ sales roles with transparent comp, or goes the "competitive salary" route.
The company is also expanding internationally. Recent moves include acquiring Vercept in February 2026 and opening the Tokyo office. Anthropic is reportedly considering a 2026 IPO.
For sales professionals in enterprise tech: Anthropic is scaling fast, has strong funding, and is hiring across APAC. If you are in AI sales or considering a move, this is one to watch.