--- title: "OpenAI vs Anthropic Statistics 2026: Revenue, Valuation, and Enterprise Share Compared" date: 2025-08-28 author: "Robert A. Lee" featured_image: "https://sqmagazine.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/openai-vs-anthropic-statistics.jpg" categories: - name: "Artificial Intelligence" url: "/artificial-intelligence.md" tags: - name: "Statistics" url: "/tag/statistics.md" --- # OpenAI vs Anthropic Statistics 2026: Revenue, Valuation, and Enterprise Share Compared The latest OpenAI vs Anthropic statistics show the AI duopoly inverted in April 2026, when Anthropic crossed approximately **$30 billion** in annualized revenue run-rate just two months after [OpenAI](https://sqmagazine.co.uk/openai-statistics/)‘s end-of-February **$25 billion** run-rate, the first time a frontier-AI challenger eclipsed the category incumbent on reported revenue. By late May, Anthropic’s Series H raised **$65 billion** at approximately a **$965 billion** post-money valuation, briefly putting it ahead of OpenAI’s **$852 billion** post-money in private markets too. One caveat readers should carry through every figure: the “ARR” tag on AI run-rates compresses contracted ARR (CARR), recognized ARR, and annualized run-rate extrapolations into one headline. Per TechCrunch’s May 2026 reporting, the CARR-vs-ARR measurement gap can reach 70% at AI startups, and Sacra’s May estimate sits above either company’s formal disclosure. ## Key Takeaways - Anthropic’s annualized run-rate climbed from roughly **$87 million** in January 2024 to about **$30 billion** by April 2026, an expansion the company attributes to enterprise API demand. - OpenAI’s annualized revenue moved from **$21.4 billion** at year-end to **$25 billion** by the end of February 2026, a 17% gain over two months per The Information. - Anthropic’s enterprise customer cohort spending **more than $1 million** annually doubled in recent months to exceed **1,000 clients** by April 2026, driving the majority of run-rate growth. - ChatGPT serves **more than 900 million** people weekly, while Anthropic counts **300,000+** business customers generating roughly **80%** of revenue through pay-per-token API access. - Ramp’s May 2026 AI Index recorded Anthropic at **34.4%** versus OpenAI at **32.3%** of enterprise corporate-card AI spend, the first such reversal. - Microsoft’s revised partnership with OpenAI values its stake at roughly **$135 billion**, or **27%** of the for-profit on an as-converted diluted basis, down from **32.5%** before the recapitalization. - Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.8 scored **69.2%** on SWE-bench Pro versus OpenAI’s GPT-5.5 scoring **84.9%** on GDPval, reflecting divergent benchmark strengths. ## Editor’s Choice - Anthropic confidentially filed an IPO S-1 on June 1, 2026, at a **$965 billion** valuation. - OpenAI closed a **$122 billion** funding round on March 31, 2026, at an **$852 billion** post-money valuation. - Sacra estimates Anthropic reached **$47 billion** in annualized revenue by May 2026, up from **$9 billion** at year-end 2025. - OpenAI’s projected cash burn is approximately **$27 billion** in 2026 and roughly **$63 billion** in 2027. - Anthropic’s Claude Code product hit **$2.5 billion** in annualized revenue by February 2026, up from **$1 billion** in November 2025. - OpenAI’s inference costs reached **$8.4 billion** in 2025 and are projected to reach **$14.1 billion** in 2026. ## Recent Developments - **June 1, 2026**: Anthropic confidentially submitted a draft S-1 to the SEC at a **$965 billion** valuation, with the IPO tentatively planned for October 23, 2026, on NASDAQ. - **May 28, 2026**: Anthropic closed a **$65 billion** Series H led by Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer, Greenoaks, and Sequoia. - **May 28, 2026**: Anthropic launched Claude Opus 4.8 with **69.2%** on SWE-bench Pro and **88.6%** on SWE-bench Verified, priced unchanged at $5 per million input tokens and $25 per million output tokens. - **May 2026**: Ramp’s AI Index recorded Anthropic at **34.4%** of enterprise corporate-card [AI](https://sqmagazine.co.uk/artificial-intelligence-statistics/) spend versus OpenAI’s **32.3%**, the first such reversal. - **April 27, 2026**: OpenAI and Microsoft announced a revamped partnership letting OpenAI sell across any cloud provider, including Amazon and Google. - **April 23, 2026**: OpenAI released GPT-5.5, the first fully retrained base model since GPT-4.5, scoring **84.9%** on GDPval. - **April 7, 2026**: Anthropic announced about a **$30 billion** annualized run-rate, roughly doubling from **$14 billion** in February. ## OpenAI vs Anthropic Revenue Run-Rates OpenAI and Anthropic disclose annualized run-rates rather than audited GAAP revenue, so direct comparison requires noting each disclosure date. Period by OpenAI ARR ANTHROPIC ARR · Anthropic ARR (USD) · Source: Source: Sacra, VentureBeat, Reuters via Yahoo Finance citing The Information ANTHROPIC ARR · SQ MAGAZINE ANALYSIS Period by OpenAI ARR Anthropic ARR (USD) Sacra 50000000000 40000000000 30000000000 20000000000 10000000000 0 January 2024: January 2024 December 2024: December 2024 End of 2025: End of 2025 February 2026: February 2026 March 2026: March 2026 April 2026: April 2026 May 2026: May 2026 January 2024 December 2024 End of 2025 February 2026 March 2026 April 2026 May 2026 SOURCE Source: Sacra, VentureBeat, Reuters via Yahoo Finance citing The Information OpenAI’s reported figure of **$25 billion** at end-February 2026 is the most-recent OpenAI-attributable run-rate in published reporting; The Information sourced it, and Reuters could not independently verify. Anthropic’s roughly **$30 billion** April 2026 reading sits in a different reporting window, and Sacra’s later **$47 billion** May 2026 estimate is the analyst firm’s forward extrapolation rather than a company disclosure. The trajectory matters more than any single snapshot. Anthropic’s run-rate climbed from roughly $87 million in January 2024 to approximately **$30 billion** by April 2026, a pace VentureBeat described as the company crossing **$30 billion** in under three years from a standing start. > **By the numbers:** Anthropic’s revenue trajectory moved from roughly **$87 million** (January 2024), to **$1 billion** (December 2024), to about **$9 billion** (end of 2025), to **$30 billion** (April 2026). The same period saw OpenAI grow from roughly **$20 billion** at year-end 2025 to **$25 billion** by February 2026, a 25% gain against Anthropic’s 233% over the same window. ## Valuation Trajectory Date by OpenAI Valuation OPENAI VALUATION · OpenAI Valuation vs Anthropic Valuation (USD) · Source: Source: OpenAI investor announcements, Anthropic newsroom, Fortune OPENAI VALUATION · SQ MAGAZINE ANALYSIS Date by OpenAI Valuation OpenAI Valuation vs Anthropic Valuation (USD) OpenAI 1000000000000 800000000000 600000000000 400000000000 200000000000 0 October 2023: October 2023 February 2024: February 2024 October 2024: October 2024 April 2025: April 2025 March 2026: March 2026 October 2023 February 2024 October 2024 April 2025 March 2026 SOURCE Source: OpenAI investor announcements, Anthropic newsroom, Fortune OpenAI’s March 31, 2026 round raised **$122 billion** at an **$852 billion** post-money valuation from a syndicate co-led by SoftBank with Andreessen Horowitz, D.E. Shaw Ventures, MGX, TPG, and T. Rowe Price-advised accounts. Strategic participation came from Amazon, [NVIDIA](https://sqmagazine.co.uk/how-many-people-work-at-nvidia/), and Microsoft. Anthropic’s Series H closed on May 28, 2026, at **$65 billion** raised and approximately **$965 billion** post-money, led by Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer, Greenoaks, and Sequoia Capital. The Series H round eclipsed OpenAI’s private valuation for the first time. Pre-IPO Anthropic shares traded at roughly **$572 per share** on secondary markets as of late May 2026, according to Fortune. The valuation gap of $113 billion is roughly half of [Salesforce](https://sqmagazine.co.uk/salesforce-statistics/), and it reverses three years of consensus that OpenAI commanded the category premium. ## Enterprise Customer Base and Spend Share Provider by May 2026 Enterprise Spend Share MAY 2026 ENTERPRISE SPEND SHARE · May 2026 Enterprise Spend Share (%) · Source: Source: Ramp May 2026 AI Index MAY 2026 ENTERPRISE SPEND SHARE · SQ MAGAZINE ANALYSIS Provider by May 2026 Enterprise Spend Share May 2026 Enterprise Spend Share (%) Ramp May · 2026 34% ANTHROPIC Anthropic 34% OpenAI 32% Other 33% SOURCE Source: Ramp May 2026 AI Index The enterprise spend inversion happened quickly. According to Ramp’s reading, Anthropic captured over **73%** of all spending among companies purchasing [AI tools](https://sqmagazine.co.uk/ai-tools-usage-statistics/) for the first time in March 2026, reversing a 60/40 OpenAI advantage as recently as early December 2025 and a 50/50 split in January 2026. Ramp’s data covers its own customer base, so the figures index enterprise behavior on Ramp’s platform rather than the full corporate market. MetricOpenAIAnthropicEnterprise customers paying over $1 million per yearnot disclosed1,000+ (April 2026)Total business customers9 million paying business users (Feb 2026)300,000+ (Oct 2025)Share of revenue from enterprise40% (parity with consumer by end-2026)~80%Pricing modelPer-seat (ChatGPT Enterprise) + APIPay-per-token API + Claude CodeBedrock / multi-cloudRecently expanded April 2026100,000+ on Amazon Bedrock (April 2026)Source: Sacra, VentureBeat, OpenAI announcements Anthropic’s **300,000+** business customers generate approximately **80%** of revenue through pay-per-token API access, with more than **100,000** of those running Claude on Amazon Bedrock as of April 2026. The high-end cohort scaled fastest: customers spending more than **$100,000** annually grew seven-fold year over year, and customers spending more than **$1 million** annually more than doubled in recent months to exceed **1,000** by April 2026. OpenAI’s enterprise mix represents more than **40%** of revenue and is on track to reach parity with consumer revenue by end of 2026. Sacra counted more than **9 million** paying business users as of February 2026 across ChatGPT Team, Enterprise, and Edu, alongside roughly **15 million** ChatGPT Plus consumer subscribers as of mid-2025. > **Why it matters:** Anthropic’s enterprise revenue concentration (~80% of total) means the company depends on API monetization and developer tooling, while OpenAI’s roughly 60/40 consumer-enterprise split makes ChatGPT’s more than **900 million** weekly user base the dominant exposure. Different revenue mixes imply different competitive risks. ## Funding Rounds and Cap Table RoundOpenAIAnthropicMost recent raise$122 billion (March 31, 2026)$65 billion (May 28, 2026)Post-money valuation$852 billion$965 billionRound leadSoftBank co-ledAltimeter CapitalPrior roundn/a (PBC restructure Oct 28, 2025)$30 billion Series G at $380 billion (Feb 12, 2026)Strategic investorsAmazon, NVIDIA, Microsoftnot individually disclosedCredit facility$4.7 billion revolving (undrawn at close)not disclosedSource: OpenAI announcement, Anthropic newsroom, Fortune The Series G to Series H jump tells the speed story for Anthropic. The February 12, 2026 Series G raised **$30 billion** at a **$380 billion** post-money valuation; by May 28, the Series H added **$65 billion** at approximately **$965 billion** post-money, a valuation increase of roughly **2.5x** over fifteen weeks. OpenAI’s simultaneous approximately $4.7 billion revolving credit facility was undrawn at close, leaving substantial dry powder against the company’s roughly $600 billion total compute spend target through 2030. > **Worth noting:** Anthropic’s Series H eclipsed OpenAI’s private valuation for the first time, but the round was tied directly to the company’s confidential S-1 filing three days later. Public-market dynamics could compress the spread quickly. ## Model Benchmarks: Claude Opus 4.8 vs GPT-5.5 BenchmarkClaude Opus 4.8Claude Opus 4.7GPT-5.5SWE-bench Pro (coding)69.2%64.3%not directly comparableSWE-bench Verified88.6%87.6%not disclosedMCP-Atlas82.2%77.3%n/aBrowseComp (single-agent)84.3%79.3%n/aGDPval (knowledge work)not disclosednot disclosed84.9%OSWorld-Verifiednot disclosednot disclosed78.7%Tau2-bench Telecomnot disclosednot disclosed98.0%Terminal-Bench 2.0not disclosednot disclosed82.7%ARC-AGI-2not disclosednot disclosed85.0%MRCR v2 (long-context)not disclosednot disclosed74.0%Source: Anthropic Claude Opus 4.8 announcement, OpenAI GPT-5.5 announcement The two model lines now compete on different benchmarks more than on a shared scoreboard. Anthropic launched Opus 4.8 on May 28, 2026, scoring **69.2%** on SWE-bench Pro, a 4.9-point gain over Opus 4.7. The model also scored **88.6%** on SWE-bench Verified, **82.2%** on MCP-Atlas, and **84.3%** on BrowseComp single-agent. Anthropic’s release note added that Opus 4.8 is approximately four times less likely than its predecessor to allow flaws in its own generated code to pass unremarked, and that pricing held at $5 per million input tokens and $25 per million output tokens. OpenAI’s GPT-5.5 launched April 23, 2026, as the first fully retrained base model since GPT-4.5. The model scored **84.9%** on GDPval, a benchmark testing knowledge work across 44 occupations, and **78.7%** on OSWorld-Verified, which measures whether a model can operate real computer environments. On Tau2-bench Telecom, it reached **98.0%** without prompt tuning; on Terminal-Bench 2.0 it scored **82.7%** versus **69.4%** for the prior model; on ARC-AGI-2 **85.0%** versus **75.8%**, and on long-context retrieval (MRCR v2) **74.0%** versus **32.2%**. Anthropic leads on coding evaluations and OpenAI leads on agentic-knowledge-work suites; the next release cycle will likely scramble that. GPT-5.5 Instant rolled out to ChatGPT free-tier users on May 5, 2026, replacing GPT-5.3 Instant as the default model. ## Claude Code and ChatGPT API Adoption - Anthropic’s Claude Code reached **$2.5 billion** in annualized revenue by February 2026, up from **$1 billion** in November 2025. - Software development represents approximately **37%** of business-context Claude conversations per Anthropic’s March 2026 Economic Index. - ChatGPT serves more than **900 million** people weekly; OpenAI counts more than **9 million** paying business users as of February 2026. Anthropic’s developer monetization runs through two surfaces: the raw API and the standalone Claude Code product. Claude Code became generally available in May 2025, hit **$1 billion** in annualized revenue by November 2025, and reached **$2.5 billion** in annualized revenue by February 2026. Enterprise deployments accounted for more than half of Claude Code’s revenue base. Anthropic’s March 2026 Economic Index reported that software development represented approximately **37%** of business-context Claude conversations, underlining the developer skew. OpenAI’s distribution looks different. [ChatGPT](https://sqmagazine.co.uk/chatgpt-statistics/) serves more than **900 million** people weekly, with roughly **15 million** ChatGPT Plus subscribers at $20 per month as of mid-2025 and more than **9 million** paying business users as of February 2026 across ChatGPT Team, Enterprise, and Edu. MetricOpenAIAnthropicWeekly active users (consumer + business)900 million+not disclosedPaid consumer subscribers~15 million Plus (mid-2025)not disclosedPaid business users9 million+ (Feb 2026)not disclosed individuallyBusiness customersnot separately disclosed300,000+ (Oct 2025)Dedicated coding productnone branded standaloneClaude Code, $2.5 billion ARR (Feb 2026)Source: Sacra, OpenAI announcement, Anthropic Economic Index > **The takeaway:** OpenAI’s lead in weekly active reach is unambiguous. Anthropic’s lead in revenue per business customer reflects a deliberately developer-skewed product surface. Both companies grew their named-customer counts in 2026, but the unit economics differ enough that direct user-count comparisons miss the financial story. ## Microsoft Partnership and OpenAI’s PBC Restructure - Microsoft’s stake in OpenAI’s for-profit arm sits at roughly **27%** on an as-converted diluted basis, valued at about **$135 billion**. - The OpenAI Foundation (the nonprofit) holds an equity stake worth approximately **$130 billion** in the for-profit arm. - Microsoft’s prior stake was **32.5%** before the October 28, 2025 recapitalization. - OpenAI’s April 27, 2026 revamped agreement allows the company to sell across any cloud provider, including Amazon and Google. - Microsoft no longer pays a revenue share to OpenAI; OpenAI’s payments to Microsoft continue until **2030**, subject to an overall cap. OpenAI’s corporate structure changed materially in late 2025 and early 2026. On October 28, 2025, OpenAI completed its recapitalization as a Public Benefit Corporation called OpenAI Group PBC, with the nonprofit (renamed the OpenAI Foundation) holding an equity stake worth about **$130 billion** in the for-profit arm. Microsoft’s investment was valued at **$135 billion**, or roughly **27%** of the company on an as-converted diluted basis, down from a previous **32.5%** stake before the recapitalization. The partnership restructure followed six months later. On April 27, 2026, OpenAI and Microsoft announced a revamped agreement permitting OpenAI to cap revenue-share payments and serve customers across any cloud provider, including Amazon and Google. Under the new terms, Microsoft no longer pays a revenue share to OpenAI; payments in the opposite direction continue until 2030, with OpenAI’s share-of-revenue obligation now independent of technological progress and subject to an overall cap. > **Worth noting:** The cap and multi-cloud permission convert OpenAI’s distribution from Microsoft-Azure-exclusive to broadly accessible, part of why [Microsoft](https://sqmagazine.co.uk/microsoft-statistics/) accepted dilution from 32.5% to 27% in exchange. Anthropic’s capital structure is conventional in comparison. The company is privately held with a confidential S-1 filed on June 1, 2026, ahead of a planned October 23, 2026, NASDAQ listing. [Amazon](https://sqmagazine.co.uk/amazon-statistics/) and Google are Anthropic’s largest strategic investors, but neither approaches a 27% stake comparable to Microsoft’s OpenAI position. ## How “ARR” Is Computed: A Measurement Caveat - TechCrunch reported in May 2026 that the contracted-vs-recognized ARR gap can reach **70%** at AI startups. - One startup publicly claimed **$50 million** in ARR while actual figures showed **$42 million**. - Another high-profile enterprise startup reported over **$100 million** in ARR with only a fraction coming from currently paying customers. - Annualized run-rate extrapolations can be computed from any window, including a quarter, month, week, or even a day. The unique angle to surface in any OpenAI versus Anthropic comparison is that the headline “ARR” figures both companies report use different methodologies. TechCrunch reported in May 2026 that AI startups commonly substitute contracted ARR (CARR) for traditional ARR, with one investor saying that “for sure they are reporting CARR as ARR.” A venture capitalist observed companies where contracted ARR exceeded recognized ARR by 70% higher than ARR, with much of that contracted revenue likely never materializing. The same TechCrunch piece quoted Spellbook co-founder Scott Stevenson calling the practice a huge scam in public commentary. Three measurement conventions coexist in the current reporting: - Recognized ARR, revenue from already-onboarded customers, the most conservative reading. This is closest to GAAP. - Contracted ARR (CARR) adds revenue from signed customers not yet onboarded, which inflates the number when implementation timelines slip or contracts cancel. - Annualized run-rate revenue extrapolates current revenue across the next twelve months based on a recent period’s haul, which the article notes can be calculated from a quarter, month, week, or even a day. Because many AI companies charge based on usage or outcomes, the annualized run-rate is no longer locked into predictable contracts and can swing meaningfully on a single large prompt-volume month. A given headline of “$30 billion ARR” may compress all three definitions; readers comparing OpenAI’s $25 billion run-rate to Anthropic’s $30 billion are comparing reporting conventions as much as steady-state revenue. The 2026 revenue figures from both companies are reliable as growth indicators but should not be read as GAAP-equivalent. The genuine answer to “who is bigger” requires waiting for Anthropic’s public S-1 disclosure and OpenAI’s own structured financial reporting. ## Is Anthropic worth more than OpenAI? By post-money valuation as of late May 2026, yes. Anthropic’s Series H closed at approximately **$965 billion** post-money on May 28, 2026, while OpenAI’s March 31, 2026 round closed at **$852 billion** post-money, a **$113 billion** gap in Anthropic’s favor. Both readings are private secondary markings and may not survive an IPO price discovery, but on the available data, Anthropic carries the higher valuation today. ## Why is OpenAI valued more than Anthropic? It is no longer. For most of 2023 through 2025, OpenAI carried the higher valuation because of ChatGPT’s consumer scale and Microsoft’s commercial commitment. That premium reversed in May 2026 when Anthropic’s Series H eclipsed OpenAI’s private valuation for the first time. The reasons sit in enterprise momentum: a **233%** revenue gain over the same window that produced OpenAI’s **25%** gain, plus a higher share of enterprise spend per Ramp, and a developer-led product surface that compounds at usage-based pricing. ## Who is winning, Anthropic or OpenAI? Anthropic and OpenAI win on different dimensions in the current snapshot. Anthropic leads on reported revenue run-rate (about **$30 billion** in April vs **$25 billion** in February), post-money valuation (approximately **$965 billion** vs **$852 billion**), and enterprise corporate-card spend share (**34.4%** vs **32.3%** in May). OpenAI leads on consumer reach (more than **900 million** weekly users) and on certain agentic-benchmark suites including Tau2-bench Telecom (**98.0%**) and Terminal-Bench 2.0 (**82.7%**). Calling a winner depends on the metric. Anthropic carries the momentum; OpenAI carries the breadth. ## Conclusion The 2026 numbers reshape an AI duopoly that looked uncontestable a year ago. Anthropic’s about **$30 billion** April annualized run-rate, approximately **$965 billion** Series H post-money, and **34.4%** versus **32.3%** enterprise spend share mark the first time a frontier-AI challenger has surpassed OpenAI on three financial dimensions simultaneously, while [Claude AI](https://sqmagazine.co.uk/claude-ai-statistics/) monetizes through API depth. OpenAI continues to monetize through consumer reach. Anthropic’s confidential S-1 filing and planned October NASDAQ listing make the next quarter the most consequential moment in private-market AI since OpenAI’s $122 billion close, and if the SEC-filed financials hold up the run-rate numbers under audit, the 2026 inversion will look durable.