Anthropic, the artificial intelligence model developer, has surpassed $30 billion in annualized revenue despite being blacklisted by the U.S. Department of Defense, posing a growing threat to rival OpenAI. Having dispelled concerns over a potential revenue collapse with a turnaround performance, Anthropic is also bolstering its computing capabilities through a massive AI chip supply deal with Google and Broadcom. A joint venture with private equity firms that could open new revenue streams is also gaining momentum.
Anthropic said Sunday that its annualized revenue surpassed $30 billion (approximately 45.25 trillion won) as of last month, driven by surging demand for its AI model Claude. Compared with approximately $9 billion at the end of last year, revenue has more than tripled in just three months.
"When we announced our Series funding round in February, we had more than 500 enterprise clients spending over $1 million annually, but that number now exceeds 1,000," Anthropic said, explaining that the rapid doubling of enterprise clients drove the sharp revenue increase.
According to The Information, AI startups do not disclose exact financial results and instead use run-rate revenue. Anthropic is known to calculate its annualized revenue by multiplying four weeks of API revenue — from programs provided to external developers — by 13 to derive 52 weeks, then adding 12 months of monthly chatbot subscription revenue. OpenAI, which has a larger share of individual customers, multiplies four weeks of total revenue by 13 to calculate 52 weeks. Industry observers say the two companies' calculation methods do not differ significantly.
It is unusual for an AI company struggling with losses to disclose revenue figures. Analysts say Anthropic's decision reflects confidence in its growth trajectory, following the explosive popularity of Claude Cowork, an enterprise AI tool, and Claude Code, a coding software, launched earlier this year. While OpenAI is not expected to break even until after 2030, Anthropic is projected to reach its break-even point by 2028.
