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- OpenAI’s CRO called Anthropic’s approach “fear-based marketing” in a leaked memo.
- OpenAI is increasingly imitating Anthropic’s strategy, from business model pivots to constitutional AI frameworks.
- Anthropic’s revenue hit $30 billion annually, appearing to surpass OpenAI’s.
OpenAI released GPT-5.4-Cyber last week, a cybersecurity model restricted to “trusted users.” The move came days after Anthropic announced Claude Mythos Preview with similar access restrictions. This sequence has become a pattern: Anthropic announces, OpenAI follows.
Last year, Anthropic launched Claude Code. Two months later, OpenAI released Codex. When Claude Code went viral in January, OpenAI responded with two major Codex updates and a press blitz. Earlier this month, OpenAI released a desktop app integration similar to Anthropic’s Claude Cowork,.mThe Atlantic notes.
Anthropic’s revenue rate hit $30 billion annually in early April, appearing to surpass OpenAI’s The Atlantic reports. OpenAI was valued at $852 billion in its last funding round, while Anthropic sits at $380 billion but is seeking $900 billion in new funding CNBC per.
OpenAI’s Anthropic-Esque Pivot
OpenAI’s most important shift has been in its business model. Despite OpenAI’s advantages in users and funding, Anthropic’s focus on code and business customers is winning The Atlantic writes. In a leaked memo, OpenAI CRO Denise Dresser called Anthropic’s approach “fear-based marketing” and said their product offerings are narrow.
OpenAI missed its own internal revenue and user targets just months ago Axios according to. The Wall Street Journal covered the miss, a reminder of how quickly leaders can become laggards in AI. OpenAI is now planning 30 gigawatts of compute by 2030, while it expects Anthropic to have 7 to 8 gigawatts by 2027 CNBC per.
Anthropic overtook OpenAI in enterprise revenue after its coding tool went viral An investor in both companies told Axios the bigger concern would be a single AI lab becoming dominant, since government enterprises will shop around for pricing and compliance reasons. Amazon expanded access to OpenAI models on Bedrock this week, and Wall Street banks are offering multiple models to employees.
Business Customers Vote With Wallets
OpenAI sent a memo to investors blasting Anthropic for “operating on a meaningfully smaller curve” CNBC reports. The memo characterized Anthropic as compute constrained. But Anthropic’s focus on business customers is driving results that OpenAI is now trying to replicate.
OpenAI is introducing a new model for “high-value professional work” as it faces competition with Anthropic for corporate customers AP News per. The push to improve business products has driven OpenAI to abandon some consumer initiatives like the AI video generator Sora. OpenAI’s CRO said she has been laser-focused on meeting with corporate leaders and positioning OpenAI as the go-to platform for workplaces.
Anthropic’s showdown with the Pentagon has also helped vault it into the public eye The Atlantic reports. The company was founded by former OpenAI employees in 2021 and has played the role of younger brother until recently. Now Anthropic is riding high on Claude Code’s explosive popularity and booming sales to large corporations.
OpenAI’s GPT-5.4-Cyber model will roll out to “critical cyber defenders” in the next few days The New York Times per.