Anthropic said it is putting $100 million into a new training initiative, Claude Frontier Academy, with a goal of training 10,000 Frontier Deployed Engineers by the end of 2027. The company describes those engineers as people who work inside enterprises and take AI projects from the idea stage into live production using Claude.
First cohort draws from eight companies
According to Anthropic’s official announcement on Oct. 2 U.S. time, the first group of participants comes from Accenture, Bain, Capgemini, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Deloitte, McKinsey, Morgan Stanley, and Novo Nordisk. Courses will run in San Francisco, New York, and London.
The academy uses a nomination model. Companies select their own engineers to attend, and each participant is required to arrive with a Claude project that they will lead after returning to their employer.
Program mirrors hands-on professional training
Anthropic said many companies are racing to adopt AI, but talent capable of making AI work in real business settings remains the hardest to find. Steve Corfield, Anthropic’s head of global business development and partnerships, said, "Claude Frontier Academy uses the same learning approach as our own engineers, and we hope graduates can set the standard for how AI is built inside enterprises."
The first course, called FDE Residency, is modeled on medical training. Participants begin with several days of in-person instruction led by Anthropic engineers and certified instructors. They go through a simulated enterprise deployment process from start to finish, including choosing use cases, conducting security reviews, and handling handoff. The training ends with a scored practical exam built around a new scenario.
Successful candidates move into a 12-week residency
Those who pass the first assessment receive a Claude Resident Engineer badge and move into a 12-week residency inside their own companies, where they lead a real Claude application project with support from Anthropic engineers.
After the 12-week period, participants are assessed again. Those who pass receive the Claude Frontier Deployed Engineer badge. Anthropic said the first group is expected in early 2027.
Built on the existing Claude partner network
Anthropic said the academy extends its Claude partner network. So far, professionals from 46,000 companies have earned more than 175,000 Claude certifications, and nearly 4,000 people have completed the same training used to onboard Anthropic’s internal Applied AI team.
According to CNBC, Anthropic partner strategy operations head Shambhavi Shambhavi said customers and partners have said they need people who understand enterprise technology, business context, and top-tier AI capabilities at the same time in order to solve real problems. CNBC also said Anthropic expects to go public later this year.