Advertising
Co-lead or crown? Tussle for Omnicom–IPG leadership race in India heats up
Inside Nandan Nilekani’s Koramangala dinner for Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei
The evening’s guest of honour was Dario Amodei, co-founder and chief executive of Anthropic, one of the world’s most closely watched artificial intelligence companies.
The evening’s guest of honour was Dario Amodei, co-founder and chief executive of Anthropic, one of the world’s most closely watched artificial intelligence companies.
On October 10, around 35 to 40 of India’s most prominent figures from the technology and startup world gathered at the Koramangala residence of Infosys co-founder and Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani.
Nestled in Bengaluru’s upscale “billionaire’s street,” Nilekani’s sprawling bungalow — tastefully designed by his wife, writer and philanthropist Rohini Nilekani — has long served as a venue for intimate, idea-driven gatherings. These occasional dinners offer a rare space for leaders and innovators to exchange thoughts away from the public spotlight.
The evening’s guest of honour was Dario Amodei, co-founder and chief executive of Anthropic, one of the world’s most closely watched artificial intelligence companies.
According to sources cited by Moneycontrol, attendees included Wipro chairman Rishad Premji, Cred founder Kunal Shah, Meesho’s Vidit Aatrey, Ather Energy’s Tarun Mehta, Rapido’s Aravind Sanka, Sarvam AI’s Vivek Raghavan, Slice’s Rajan Bajaj, Jar’s Nischay AG, Prosus’ Ashutosh Sharma, Lightspeed’s Hemant Mohapatra, and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) visionary Pramod Varma, among others.
Both Nilekani and the guests declined to share details of the gathering, which was described as a private, off-record discussion.
A fireside chat on the future of AI
The evening opened with an informal fireside conversation between Nilekani — often referred to as India’s de facto “chief technology officer” — and Amodei.
According to attendees, the discussion was wide-ranging, covering Amodei’s early work, Anthropic’s strategic focus on enterprise AI, and India’s position in the global AI landscape. The conversation also explored the societal impact of AI, its disruptive potential, and the productivity gains it promises across sectors such as healthcare and education.
Amodei spoke candidly about Anthropic’s origins and its deliberate emphasis on enterprise applications over consumer-facing products — a decision rooted in safety considerations and a desire to build trustworthy, high-value AI systems. He also highlighted India’s growing significance in the AI ecosystem, pointing to its deep pool of developer talent and the vast, untapped opportunities for innovation and applied research.
The dinner came at the close of a pivotal week for Anthropic’s India engagement. The Amazon- and Google-backed AI firm had just announced its first India office, while Amodei himself met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other key stakeholders in the country’s digital and innovation ecosystem.
SPOTLIGHT
According to LinkedIn’s research with over 1,700 B2B tech buyers, video storytelling has emerged as the most trusted, engaging, and effective format for B2B marketers. But what’s driving this shift towards video in B2B? (Image Source: Unsplash)
Read MoreArattai App: All you need to know about Zoho’s made-in-India "WhatsApp killer"
Discover Arattai, Zoho’s made-in-India messaging app. Features, privacy, user growth, and how it compares to WhatsApp in 2025.