Anthropic surpasses OpenAI in business spending amid Trump administration dispute
10 reported3 unconfirmed
According to a TechCrunch report based on data from financial platform Ramp, Anthropic surpassed OpenAI in market share of business AI spending for the first time in May 2026. This growth occurred despite renewed conflict with the Trump administration, which sent a letter on Friday demanding Anthropic ban non-Americans from accessing its latest models, Mythos 5 and Fable 5. The company responded by pulling Fable 5 from the market. The White House invoked an obscure export control directive, but the exact cause of the order remains unclear. Ramp’s lead economist, Ara Kharazian, told TechCrunch that the feud may actually boost Anthropic’s business, noting that the company’s best month for business adoption was the month the Department of Defense labeled it a supply-chain risk. Ramp’s data, drawn from over 70,000 businesses, shows Anthropic’s share of AI subscriptions rose 2.5 percentage points in May to 41%, while OpenAI’s share was 39.5%. The report notes that OpenAI still leads in overall consumer usage.
What’s reported
Anthropic surpassed OpenAI in market share of business AI spending for the first time in May 2026, according to Ramp data.
The Trump administration sent a letter on Friday demanding Anthropic ban non-Americans from accessing Mythos 5 and Fable 5.
Anthropic pulled Fable 5 from the market in response.
The White House invoked an obscure export control directive; the exact cause of the order is unclear.
Ramp’s lead economist Ara Kharazian stated the feud may boost Anthropic’s business, citing a previous supply-chain risk label.
Anthropic’s share of AI subscriptions paid by businesses rose 2.5 percentage points in May to 41%; OpenAI’s was 39.5%.
OpenAI still leads in overall consumer usage, per Sensor Tower data.
Anthropic raised $65 billion at a $965 billion valuation in late May and filed confidential IPO paperwork.
Mythos 5 was released to limited users in April; Fable 5 was shut down after a few days.
Anthropic released a new version, Opus 4.8, in late May.
Open questions
The exact cause of the White House’s export control directive.
How pulling Mythos and Fable 5 will financially impact Anthropic.
How the dispute will affect Anthropic’s ability to go public.
Key figures
Ara Kharazian, lead economist at Ramp
Anthropic (AI lab)
OpenAI (AI lab)
Trump administration
Sources: TechCrunch
