Anthropic has surpassed OpenAI in annualized revenue, reaching $65 billion by late July 2026, as both companies gear up for their IPOs in a market with a total addressable potential exceeding $30 trillion. The competition is expanding beyond model performance to include AI infrastructure, semiconductors, and data centers.
TL;DR
- Anthropic's revenue grew to $65 billion, surpassing OpenAI's $40 billion, driven by corporate and coding demand.
- Both companies are preparing for IPOs, with Anthropic aiming for a listing as early as September or October 2026.
- The competition is not just about model performance but also about securing AI infrastructure, including semiconductors, data centers, and power supply.
What happened
Anthropic's annualized revenue reached $65 billion by late July 2026, surpassing OpenAI's $40 billion. This growth is driven by the surge in corporate and coding demand, particularly from Claude Code. OpenAI's revenue has also doubled from $20 billion at the end of 2025 to $40 billion, driven by various segments including Codex, ChatGPT Work, subscriptions, and advertising.
Anthropic's rapid revenue expansion is attributed to its focus on enterprises and developers, demonstrating productivity gains and cost reductions. The company forecasts sales revenue of $190–200 billion by 2028, according to Reuters. Anthropic is also targeting a potential market exceeding $30 trillion (TAM) ahead of its IPO, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Both Anthropic and OpenAI are moving forward with IPO plans. Anthropic aims for a listing as early as September or October 2026, while OpenAI, which had been considering a listing in 2026, may delay it until 2027. The competition between the two companies is expanding into revenue, model performance, corporate client acquisition, and securing massive AI computing resources.
Why it matters
Anthropic's lead in growth and profitability is significant for developers and startups, as it indicates a strong market demand for enterprise-focused AI solutions. This could drive more investment and innovation in the corporate AI sector.
For investors, the competition between Anthropic and OpenAI represents a significant opportunity in the AI market. The outcome will depend on model performance, corporate client acquisition, monetization of user bases, and the ability to manage training and inference costs.
The battle for AI dominance is not just between Anthropic and OpenAI but also involves a vast ecosystem of companies in semiconductors, memory, networking, data centers, and power/cooling infrastructure. This ecosystem is crucial for enhancing model performance and handling massive AI demand, offering investment opportunities beyond the two main players.
Key facts
- Anthropic's annualized revenue reached $65 billion by late July 2026, according to the company.
- OpenAI's annualized revenue expanded to over $40 billion, driven by various segments including Codex, ChatGPT Work, subscriptions, and advertising, according to the company.
- Anthropic forecasts sales revenue of $190–200 billion by 2028, as reported by Reuters on August 15, 2026.
- Anthropic is targeting a potential market exceeding $30 trillion (TAM) ahead of its IPO, as reported by The Wall Street Journal on August 25, 2026.
- Anthropic's revenue for the April–June 2026 quarter was $11.6 billion, surpassing OpenAI's $6.7 billion, according to the companies.
- Anthropic posted a small adjusted operating profit, while OpenAI reported an operating loss of $12.3 billion for the same quarter, according to the companies.
- Anthropic aims for an IPO listing as early as September or October 2026, while OpenAI may delay its IPO until 2027, according to recent reports.
- Anthropic has signed a contract with TeraWulf for an AI data center with approximately 401MW of capacity over a 20-year period, and plans to deploy AI data center infrastructure starting at 245MW, with a potential expansion up to 2,295MW in the future, according to the company.
Context
The competition between Anthropic and OpenAI is part of a broader AI landscape where companies are not only focusing on model performance but also on securing the infrastructure needed to support AI growth. This includes semiconductors, data centers, and power supply, which are essential for handling the massive computational demand of AI models.
The battle for AI dominance is also reflected in the investment strategies of ETFs that focus on the ecosystems of Anthropic and OpenAI. These ETFs invest in companies that are part of the AI infrastructure, providing insights into the strategic differences and potential investment opportunities in the AI market.
As both companies prepare for their IPOs, the outcome of the competition will have significant implications for the AI industry. It will influence the direction of AI development, the allocation of resources, and the opportunities available for developers, startups, and investors in the AI market.
