Artificial intelligence groups are on a hiring spree for a rare kind of software developer who can code and talk to customers, as they race to increase adoption of their cutting-edge technology.

Anthropic, OpenAI and Cohere are recruiting for so-called forward-deployed engineers, a new job for generative AI companies, as part of a push to generate more revenues by installing specialists within businesses to help them customise their AI models.

OpenAI set up an FDE team at the start of this year and expects to grow it to about 50 engineers in 2025, Arnaud Fournier, who heads up the company’s FDEs in Europe and the Middle East, told the Financial Times. Anthropic said it would grow its applied AI team, which includes FDEs and product engineers, fivefold this year to meet customer demand.