BENGALURU: Karnataka is exploring a strategic partnership with Anthropic India, an AI safety and research company, to accelerate the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in governance, research and skill development.
IT&BT Minister Priyank Kharge met Irina Ghose, the managing director of Anthropic India, in the state capital on Saturday, to discuss the government’s AI vision and opportunities for collaboration. Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society (KITS) Managing Director Avinash Menon Rajendran was also present at the meeting.
The discussions centred on developing future-ready AI skills through partnerships in skilling and co-creation, besides establishing centres of excellence (CoEs) and incubators to boost AI research, innovation and entrepreneurship in the state.
The key focus was on leveraging existing government datasets for public good and enhancing citizen services through AI. The meeting also explored Karnataka’s transition from conventional e-governance to intelligence-driven governance, or “i-governance”, by deploying AI to make public services more responsive, efficient and citizen-centric.
Kharge said Karnataka’s AI vision is aimed at building advanced capabilities, strengthening the state’s innovation ecosystem and harnessing technology to improve governance and public service delivery. He said collaboration with Anthropic could support initiatives in skilling, research, startups and AI-led governance while creating sustainable, scalable models with long-term public value.
The discussions also covered opportunities to design AI programmes for government and citizens, while strengthening collaboration between startups and global capability centres (GCCs). The proposed partnership seeks to promote mentorship, co-creation and deeper engagement with Karnataka’s DeepTech startup ecosystem.