Key Takeaways
- Anthropic now sees about $3 billion in yearly sales, a big jump showing AI is catching on in business.
- This boom is largely thanks to companies wanting AI for tasks like writing computer code.
- Anthropic’s sales are climbing faster than many other software businesses.
- While Anthropic focuses on business clients, its competitor OpenAI is a big hit with everyday users.
Artificial intelligence firm Anthropic is making impressive strides, with its projected annual revenue now hitting around $3 billion. This marks a significant leap from just under $1 billion late last year, two sources familiar with the company’s finances revealed.
This rapid financial growth, which crossed the $2 billion mark around March before reaching $3 billion by the end of May, signals strong business interest in generative AI. According to The Economic Times, which reported on these figures, the surge is largely due to companies buying Anthropic’s AI models as a service.
A key driver behind this demand is AI that can help write computer programs. San Francisco-based Anthropic, which has backing from giants like Google’s parent company Alphabet and Amazon.com, is particularly known for its AI’s skill in this “codegen” area.
Products that assist with coding have seen major uptake recently, often using Anthropic’s technology. This has set Anthropic apart, with its revenue increases being described as some of the fastest ever seen in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) sector by at least one venture capitalist, even without direct investment in the company.
For comparison, Alex Clayton, a General Partner at Meritech who isn’t an Anthropic investor, noted that such growth is rare when looking at over 200 public software company IPOs. He pointed out that publicly traded SaaS firm Snowflake, for example, took a year and a half to grow its run-rate revenue from $1 billion to $2 billion.
Anthropic’s main competitor, OpenAI, also projects substantial revenue, aiming for over $12 billion in total revenue by the end of 2025. This figure, however, represents total revenue and differs from Anthropic’s annualized estimate from current sales. OpenAI’s revenue largely comes from subscriptions to its popular ChatGPT chatbot.
The two AI leaders seem to be carving out different paths. While both serve businesses and consumers, OpenAI is leaning more towards the consumer market. In contrast, Anthropic’s chatbot, Claude, has seen more modest consumer adoption compared to the widely used ChatGPT.
Founded in 2021 by a team that previously worked at OpenAI, Anthropic recently secured $3.5 billion in funding, valuing the company at $61.4 billion. This highlights the intense investment and high stakes in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
