Anthropic Overtakes OpenAI in Business Adoption, Ramp Data Shows
Key Points
- Ramp's AI Index, based on expense data from over 50,000 companies, shows 34.4% of businesses paying for Anthropic services.
- OpenAI trails at 32.3% of participating firms, marking the first time Anthropic leads in verified business customers.
- Anthropic's share jumped from 9% in May 2025 to roughly 35% a year later, a 26‑point increase.
- OpenAI's business share declined by about one point over the same period.
- Overall corporate adoption of AI products rose 9% in the past twelve months.
- Ramp economist Ara Kharazian credits Anthropic's early focus on technical customers and tools like Cowork for the surge.
- Kharazian cautions the lead may be short‑lived, noting OpenAI's ongoing enterprise initiatives.
- The index, while not a perfect market proxy, offers a broad view of enterprise AI spending.
A new AI Index from fintech firm Ramp reveals that Anthropic now has more verified business customers than OpenAI for the first time. The survey, based on expense data from over 50,000 companies, shows 34.4% of participating firms paying for Anthropic services versus 32.3% for OpenAI. Ramp economist Ara Kharazian attributes the shift to Anthropic’s early focus on technical customers and recent expansion tools like Cowork, though he cautions the lead may be temporary.
Anthropic has eclipsed OpenAI in the corporate arena, according to the latest AI Index released by fintech company Ramp. The index, which aggregates expense‑report data from more than 50,000 of Ramp’s client firms, shows that 34.4% of participating businesses are paying for Anthropic’s services—enough to place the startup ahead of every other AI lab, including OpenAI, which trails at 32.3%.
Ramp economist Ara Kharazian highlighted the significance of the finding, noting that Anthropic has “already been in the lead amongst the high‑adoption groups like finance, tech, professional services.” He added that while OpenAI still leads in other sectors, the gap has been narrowing over recent months.
The index is not a perfect market barometer; it reflects only companies that use Ramp’s expense‑management platform. Still, its breadth gives the numbers weight, Kharazian said. “The sample includes more than 50,000 companies, making it both broad and diverse enough to carry weight,” he told TechCrunch.
Industry‑wide trends echo the Ramp data. OpenRouter’s leaderboard, which tracks a different user segment, placed OpenAI above Anthropic as recently as December 2025, but the margin has been shrinking. Over the past year, Anthropic’s corporate client base expanded dramatically. In May 2025, a modest 9% of businesses reported paying for Anthropic products; a year later that share surged to roughly 35%, a 26‑point jump. During the same period, OpenAI’s share slipped by about one point, while the overall proportion of firms using any AI product rose 9%.
Kharazian attributes Anthropic’s rapid ascent to a deliberate go‑to‑market strategy. “What Anthropic did worked really well,” he explained. “They started with a very technical customer base, focused on their needs, succeeded in execution, and then began broadening out through tools like Cowork.” The company’s recent rollout of Cowork, an AI‑assisted collaboration suite, appears to be paying off, expanding its appeal beyond early‑adopter niches.
Despite the momentum, Kharazian remains cautious about the durability of Anthropic’s lead. In a recent blog post, he warned that market dynamics could shift quickly, especially as OpenAI ramps up its enterprise‑focused offerings and pricing models. “The advantage may be temporary,” he wrote, “but the past year proves that a focused strategy can move the needle fast.”
For investors and analysts tracking the AI race, the Ramp data offers a concrete snapshot of corporate buying patterns, a segment that often lags behind consumer adoption but carries higher revenue potential. Anthropic’s newfound edge could translate into stronger cash flows and a more resilient position as the sector matures.
OpenAI, which still commands a larger share of the overall AI market, is not standing still. The firm has announced new enterprise‑grade APIs and pricing tiers aimed at large organizations, signaling an intent to reclaim ground. Whether those moves will reverse the current trend remains to be seen, but the competition is clearly heating up.
In the meantime, the Ramp AI Index underscores a broader shift: businesses across finance, technology, and professional services are increasingly willing to allocate budget to generative AI tools. As more firms adopt these solutions, the competitive landscape among AI labs will continue to evolve, and the next leader could emerge from an entirely different corner of the market.