On June 17, 2026, Anthropic, the company behind the artificial intelligence assistant Claude, opened an office in Seoul. This is its third location in the Asia-Pacific region, following Tokyo and Bengaluru. While this might seem like a distant prospect for a small business in Trois-Rivières or Quebec City, it speaks volumes about the growing presence of Claude in the world of work.

The most telling aspect isn't the desktop itself, but what comes with it. On the same day, Anthropic confirmed that giants like Samsung, LG, and Hanwha are deploying Claude to thousands of their employees. In other words, the tool is no longer just for testing; it's becoming part of the daily operations of very large organizations, for writing code, documenting, and managing knowledge.

1. What Anthropic announced in Seoul

The opening of the Seoul office is accompanied by several agreements involving both the public and private sectors. According to Anthropic, the new office is headed by KiYoung Choi, who has over thirty years of experience leading technology companies in Korea. Korea is among the top ten countries where Claude.ai is most widely used, particularly for technical and creative tasks.

Here are the main points of the announcement:

• An agreement with the government : Anthropic has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korean Ministry of Science and ICT to advance AI security.
• Research partnerships : up to 60 researchers affiliated with a university consortium (including KAIST, Korea University, Yonsei and POSTECH) will have access to Claude to work on alignment, model evaluation and robustness.
• An expanded regional presence : Seoul becomes Anthropic's third office in Asia-Pacific, a sign that the company is structuring its growth outside the United States.

2. Samsung, LG, and Hanwha are deploying Claude on a large scale

The most interesting part of the announcement concerns actual enterprise deployments. These are no longer confidential pilot projects, but rollouts to thousands of people. According to Anthropic, three cases stand out:

• LG CNS is deploying Claude to thousands of employees to develop software, with the intention of extending its use to the entire LG group.
• Samsung SDS puts Claude in the hands of Samsung Electronics employees, notably through Claude Cowork and Claude Code, for daily knowledge work and software development.
• Hanwha Solutions makes Claude accessible to its employees internationally via AWS Bedrock, in order to comply with strict data residency and security requirements.

This last detail deserves attention. Hanwha doesn't simply activate a tool; the company chooses a path that keeps data within a specific region, with tight security controls. This is exactly the kind of reflex an SME should have before opening AI to its team. Where does the data go, who has access to it, and according to what rules? At OKTO Solutions, this is the type of framework we implement in our managed IT services.

3. Why this news matters to a Quebec SME

When organizations the size of Samsung and LG decide to put Claude in the hands of thousands of employees, it sends a simple message: conversational AI is no longer a gimmick; it has become a standard productivity tool. And what starts in large corporations almost always ends up reaching SMEs, often faster than you might think.

In practical terms, a small business can learn several lessons from these deployments:

• This practice will become widespread, whether regulated or not. Your employees may already be using an AI assistant to write emails or summarize documents. A structured approach is better than an improvised one.
• Data is the real issue. Hanwha's choice to use a data-residential infrastructure is a reminder that SMEs need to know where their sensitive information is circulating, especially with Quebec's Bill 25.
• The time savings are real. Coding, writing, knowledge management: these are tasks that every company performs, regardless of its size.

The right approach is neither to ban AI nor to adopt it without thinking, but to define clear rules: which tools are permitted, which data should never be copied into them, and who validates the results. If you want to develop this policy without spending all your evenings on it, you can contact us through our contact page.

4. The context: background export checks

It's important to note a contextual element reported by several media outlets, including UPI and the Korea Times. The opening of the Seoul office comes at a time when US export restrictions are limiting Korea's access to Anthropic's most advanced models. Just days earlier, the company had been forced to suspend access to its top-of-the-line models following a government directive.

Anthropic is therefore continuing its expansion in Korea while working within these limitations. For an SME, the lesson is less geopolitical than practical: the availability of an AI tool can change overnight based on decisions over which you have no control. This is a good reason never to rely on a single supplier for a critical process, and to always maintain a backup plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Claude, the AI ​​of Anthropic?

Claude is an artificial intelligence assistant developed by Anthropic. It is used to write, summarize, analyze documents, write code and answer questions, much like a digital colleague accessible via text.

Why did Anthropic open an office in Seoul?

To get closer to its Korean partners and customers. Korea is one of the countries where Claude is most used, and large companies like Samsung and LG are deploying the tool to thousands of employees there.

Can a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) use Claude safely?

Yes, provided its use is properly managed: defining what data can be entered, choosing a suitable service, and training employees. An IT partner can help you implement these guidelines, especially to comply with Law 25.

Adopt AI without losing control of your data

Claude's arrival in the world's largest companies confirms a fundamental trend: AI is becoming just another business tool. The real question for SMEs is no longer whether to use it, but how to manage it effectively to benefit from it without exposing their data. Our team can help you choose the right tools and establish clear rules, just as we do in our managed IT services. To discuss this with a human, contact us through our contact page.