Key points
- Anthropic commits $100 million to train engineers
- The program is modeled on medical residencies
- Five of eight named companies are consulting firms
Anthropic is committing $100 million to train 10,000 engineers by the end of 2027 to build AI systems with Claude inside large companies. The program, called Claude Frontier Academy, launched Friday, Oct. 2, with engineers from Accenture (ACN), McKinsey, Morgan Stanley (MS), and other companies in its first cohorts.
"The hard part is building that depth of talent," said Steve Corfield, Anthropic's global head of business development and partnerships. He described the goal as engineers "who can take Claude from an idea to a system in production." Engineers who pass the first stage then spend 12 weeks leading a real project at their own company.
Inside the residency
The program draws on medical training: participants learn from experienced practitioners, work through realistic cases, and undergo assessments before earning a credential.
Companies nominate experienced software engineers who have worked with large language models. Prior experience building AI agents is not required, but each nominee must have a Claude project to lead at their organization.
Training begins with three days of in-person instruction from Anthropic engineers and licensed instructors. Participants practice an enterprise deployment, followed by a graded practical assessment on a new scenario on the fourth day.
Successful participants earn the Claude Resident Engineer badge and enter a 12-week residency. They lead a real project at their organization with support from Anthropic engineers. A final assessment determines whether they earn the Claude Frontier Deployed Engineer badge.
Anthropic expects the first Frontier Deployed Engineer badges in early 2027. The residency is currently in early access for selected customers and partners; interested organizations can contact their Anthropic account team or partner manager.
A cohort built on consultants
Anthropic named eight companies: Accenture, Bain, Capgemini, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Deloitte, McKinsey, Morgan Stanley, and Novo Nordisk (NVO). Five of the eight are consulting firms that sell AI work to other businesses.
Accenture already has a role by a similar name. Its "forward deployed engineers translate AI ambition into enterprise-wide impact," said Ram Ramalingam, who leads Accenture's FDE and software and platform engineering work.
Commonwealth Bank's engineers use AI tools every day, and its teams "have produced up to 3x more code changes in the past year," said Rodrigo Castillo, the bank's group chief technology officer.
The academy builds on Anthropic's Claude Partner Network, where professionals at 46,000 firms have earned more than 175,000 Claude certifications. Nearly 4,000 people have also completed Basecamp, a program built on the curriculum Anthropic's own applied AI staff receive when they join.
Anthropic called training 10,000 engineers "the first step of many."
