Anthropic on Monday announced that its artificial intelligence assistant "Claude" is available in Europe after launching in the United States earlier this year.

"We're excited to announce that Claude, Anthropic's trusted AI assistant, is now available for people and businesses across Europe to enhance their productivity and creativity," the San Francisco-based tech startup said in a blog post.

Claude can be accessed for free in Europe online at claude.ai or using an app tailored for Apple mobile devices, according to Anthropic.

It is also available to businesses through a paid "Claude Team" subscription plan, the company added.

The OpenAI rival introduced the latest version of Claude in March.

"Claude has strong levels of comprehension and fluency in French, German, Spanish, Italian, and other European languages, allowing users to converse with Claude in multiple languages," Anthropic said.

"Claude's intuitive, user-friendly interface makes it easy for anyone to seamlessly integrate our advanced AI models into their workflows."

OpenAI's launch of ChatGPT in late 2022 sparked keen interest in generative AI that enables computers to create images, videos, computer code, or written works from simple text prompts.

Founded by former OpenAI employees, Anthropic strives to distinguish itself from its competitors by building stricter safeguards into its technology to prevent it from being misused.

Millions of people are already using Claude for an array of purposes, according to Anthropic co-founder and chief executive Dario Amodei.

"I can't wait to see what European people and companies will be able to create with Claude," Amodei said.

An application programming interface for developers interested in using Anthropic AI has been accessible in Europe since the start of this year, according to the company.

Anthropic has raised at least $7 billion in funding since 2021, with its backers including Amazon, Google, and Salesforce.

© 2024 AFP