Wipro Limited has taken a major step in its enterprise AI transformation by inaugurating an Applied AI Center of Excellence dedicated to Anthropic’s Claude AI models at its Bengaluru innovation hub. The announcement positions Wipro as a frontrunner among Indian IT firms racing to build deep expertise in frontier AI technologies.
The newly established center operates under Wipro’s AI-Native Business & Platforms Unit, which was formed on April 1, 2026, under the leadership of veteran executive Nagendra Bandaru. At the heart of the initiative is an ambitious plan to certify 10,000 front-line delivery professionals on Claude models over the next 18 months, creating a practitioner workforce capable of designing, deploying, and managing AI-powered enterprise systems in complex real-world environments.
Wipro CEO Sri Pallia emphasized the strategic significance of the move, describing it as “a fundamental shift in how we deliver” that advances the company’s vision of being “consulting-led and AI-powered.” The initiative reflects Wipro’s broader $1 billion ai360 investment commitment, which funds AI integration across all aspects of its operations and client delivery.
A key feature of the program is the deployment of Forward Deployed Engineers trained specifically on Claude AI. These engineers are embedded directly within client environments across diverse sectors including mortgage, healthcare, airlines, manufacturing, and consumer industries. By combining deep domain knowledge with hands-on AI model expertise, these professionals help enterprises accelerate AI adoption in ways that are immediately practical and business-relevant.
The center integrates Claude capabilities across Wipro’s Intelligence stack, including industry-specific platforms such as NetOxygen for AI-driven lending operations and CROAMIS for aviation cargo management. This integration enables Wipro to deliver AI-enhanced solutions across verticals while maintaining enterprise-grade security and compliance standards.
The launch places Wipro in direct competition with its IT sector peers. Infosys established its own Anthropic Center of Excellence in February 2026, focusing initially on telecommunications use cases, while Tata Consultancy Services followed in June with a Global Premier Partnership with Anthropic aimed at enterprise AI scaling. For Anthropic, these partnerships with India’s top IT services firms represent a significant expansion of its enterprise channel strategy, supported by a $100 million investment in its Claude Partner Network announced in March 2026.
With Anthropic having recently opened its own Bengaluru office, the AI ecosystem in India’s technology capital is rapidly becoming a global hub for enterprise AI development and deployment.
