Anthropic launches Claude Frontier Academy with $100m training pledge

Anthropic on 2 October announced the Claude Frontier Academy, a programme that commits $100 million to train 10,000 "Frontier Deployed Engineers" by the end of 2027, aimed at closing the enterprise AI talent gap.

The company said the first cohorts include Accenture, Bain, Capgemini, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Deloitte, McKinsey, Morgan Stanley and Novo Nordisk. Cohorts are running in San Francisco, New York and London.

Training starts with multi-day, in-person sessions led by Anthropic engineers. They cover a simulated enterprise deployment, a security review and a graded practical assessment, according to the Anthropic announcement.

Engineers who pass earn the Claude Resident Engineer badge. They then start a 12-week residency, leading a real Claude project inside their own organisation with support from Anthropic.

The residency ends with a final assessment for the Claude Frontier Deployed Engineer badge. Anthropic said the first awards are expected in early 2027.

Steve Corfield, Anthropic's Global Head of Business Development and Partnerships, said: "A small team of high-agency people with the right skills, access to Claude, and a deep understanding of how their business runs can transform an entire company."

The announcement followed a day after Anthropic said Barclays is scaling Claude across its operations and client service. Anthropic launched Claude Sonnet 5.5 on 28 September and is preparing a November IPO.

The first Frontier Deployed Engineer badges are due in early 2027, once the initial residencies finish.