Anthropic's recent legal battles with the Trump administration might just be a blessing in disguise, according to sales data. Despite the White House's demands to ban non-Americans from accessing its advanced models, the company's sales figures paint a different picture. In May, Anthropic achieved its best month in terms of business adoption, surpassing OpenAI in market share of business spending. This success comes on the heels of a $65 billion funding round at a valuation of $965 billion, and the filing of confidential paperwork for an IPO. The Trump administration's actions, including labeling Anthropic a supply-chain risk and demanding a ban on non-Americans accessing its models, have seemingly only bolstered the company's reputation and market standing.
The core of this story lies in the unique capabilities of Anthropic's models, particularly Mythos and Fable 5. These models are so advanced that they can identify security vulnerabilities in software code, which Anthropic itself marketed as a potential danger. The government's attempt to restrict access to these models has, ironically, heightened their perceived value. As Ramp's lead economist, Ara Kharazian, notes, the aura of danger surrounding these models may actually be beneficial for Anthropic's business.
The data from Ramp's platform, which tracks spending by over 70,000 businesses, shows a significant increase in the use of Anthropic's Opus models. In May, Anthropic's share of AI subscriptions paid for by businesses rose to 41%, a 2.5 percentage point increase from the previous month. This compares favorably to OpenAI, which saw a slight decrease in its market share.
The popularity of Anthropic's models is further evidenced by the high demand for API calls, which cover token use for coding and other activities. Anthropic's Claude Code is renowned for its power in AI coding, and businesses are increasingly spending on various versions of Claude Opus, especially the later ones.
Despite the recent drama, Anthropic's available models are more popular than ever. The company's ability to maintain and grow its market share, even in the face of government controversy, is a testament to the strength of its products and the trust businesses have in its technology. While the future of Anthropic's IPO remains uncertain, the current data suggests that the company is well-positioned for continued success in the AI market.
