Anthropic Leads OpenAI in Race to Profitability

Artificial intelligence startup Anthropic is reportedly on track to become profitable before competitor OpenAI.

Anthropic, which has a growing number of business customers thanks to its Claude chatbot, expects to break even for the first time in 2028, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday (Nov. 10), citing documents it obtained.

During that year, OpenAI projects that its operating losses would jump to around $74 billion, or roughly three-quarters of revenue, due to surging spending on computing costs, the report said. The company, famous for its ChatGPT AI model, also expects to burn around 14 times as much cash as Anthropic before becoming profitable in 2030.

These figures do not take into account the company’s recent computing deals, which means it will likely spend even more in the years ahead, according to the report.

Anthropic is working to boost sales among its corporate customers, which make up around 80% of revenue, while not venturing into the expensive image and video ventures as OpenAI, the report said.

Neither OpenAI nor Anthropic responded to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

The business projections, each shared with investors over the summer, indicate that the most valuable AI startups have different strategies for expanding, per the report.

OpenAI expects narrower margins than Anthropic from its sales in the next five years but is spending more on the materials to build its technology and on compensation to attract talent, according to the report.

It’s in keeping with CEO Sam Altman’s goal of transforming OpenAI into a multitrillion-dollar company, a strategy that needs continual fundraising, the report said. It’s also a plan that could blow up if markets sour on AI or OpenAI’s near-term profitability.

Investors have pulled away from tech companies in recent weeks due to worries about AI spending and whether there will be enough money to cover the massive expansion of AI infrastructure, according to the report.

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “AI Agents in the Enterprise” found that roughly 1 in 10 chief financial officers are using or piloting AI agents. However, no CFO said they are ready to grant substantial or full autonomy.

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