Bengaluru, 6 Aug

Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday held talks with a delegation from AI major Anthropic on forging a long-term partnership.

The proposed collaboration aims to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence across governance, higher education, healthcare, research and the state's startup ecosystem.

Shivakumar, along with Minister for Electronics, IT/BT and Home Priyank Kharge, met the Anthropic delegation as part of the state's efforts to engage global AI leaders in building Karnataka's artificial intelligence ecosystem, the CMO said in a release.

The discussions  centred on deploying applied AI solutions for government and enterprise use cases, with emphasis on the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence while ensuring data privacy and data sovereignty, it said.

The CM outlined Karnataka's vision of building a comprehensive AI ecosystem anchored by the proposed AI University, large-scale skilling initiatives and support for deep-tech innovation.

Both sides discussed introducing AI-focused certification programmes, such as Claude certification, under the state's NIPUNA skill development initiative to create one of the country's largest pools of AI-certified talent, the release said.

The talks covered the use of AI in healthcare and life sciences, as well as its application in scientific research in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science.

The Anthropic delegation expressed interest in supporting AI-driven research and skilling programmes in higher education, it said.

Another key area of discussion was enterprise AI adoption, with emphasis on data residency and ensuring that sovereign government data is stored on servers within the state.

The State government reiterated its "government first" policy and proposed securely opening government datasets to facilitate the development of innovative AI-powered public solutions, the release said. The meeting explored the creation of department-wise working groups to identify AI applications across e-governance, the Home Department and other government agencies.

The discussions stressed the importance of responsible AI practices, such as safeguards against cyber threats and the protection of citizen data and privacy, as essential elements of future deployments.

During the meeting, the CM sought Anthropic's expertise on using artificial intelligence to reduce fraud in government systems and improve the effectiveness, security and confidentiality of question paper preparation for examinations conducted by various government agencies and educational institutions.

He proposed subsidising access to Anthropic's Claude AI platform for higher education institutions, such as Visvesvaraya Technological University, to strengthen AI education and research.

Both sides explored collaboration to support Karnataka's startup ecosystem, with Anthropic expressing its willingness to engage with the state's more than 20,000 startups, particularly those in the deep-tech sector. They identified AI applications in areas such as tax collection and public service delivery as potential pilot projects.

The meeting examined partnerships with non-governmental organisations and public institutions to ensure AI technologies are deployed for broader social benefit.

The Anthropic delegation comprised Michael Sellitto, Head of International Policy; Chris Ciauri, Managing Director, International Markets; Irina Ghose, Managing Director, India; Amlan Mohanty, Head of India Policy; and Samarth Masson, who leads Go-to-Market initiatives for the Public Sector, Health and Education.

Senior State government officials were also present.