Anthropic, OpenAI capture 89%

Anthropic and OpenAI have pulled further ahead of the rest of the generative AI startup field, according to a May 17 report from The Information. The publication said 34 leading startups in the sector are now generating nearly $80 billion in annualized revenue, or about $6.6 billion a month, from AI applications and model access, with Anthropic and OpenAI together taking 89% of that total. (theinformation.com) That figure matters because it describes where commercial revenue is concentrating inside the model layer, not just where user attention sits. The Information’s framing points to a market in which a small number of model providers are capturing most of the dollars flowing through leading private AI companies. (blackstone.com) ### How concentrated is the market in practical terms? The Information’s May 17 update said Anthropic and OpenAI together captured 89% of annualized revenue among the 34 startups it tracks. The same group was generating nearly $80 billion in annualized revenue, which implies the rest of the field shared a comparatively small slice of the total. (theinformation.com) Techmeme’s summary of the report said the group’s annualized revenue was up 112% from six months earlier. That suggests the overall market is still expanding rapidly even as revenue is becoming more concentrated at the top. (theinformation.com) ### Why does this matter for companies building on top of models? Enterprise software teams that ship AI meeting tools, copilots and workflow agents usually buy inference from outside model vendors rather than train frontier models themselves. When revenue pools cluster around two suppliers, those buyers face greater exposure to pricing changes, product bundling, model access terms and roadmap decisions made by a narrow set of vendors. (theinformation.com) This is an inference from the revenue concentration reported by The Information, not a direct quote from the report. Business Standard reported on May 6 that Anthropic and OpenAI were moving closer to enterprise customers by offering end-to-end AI services rather than only selling model access. (techmeme.com) Venkat Viswanathan, founder and chairperson of LatentView Analytics, told the publication large enterprises increasingly want systems built around their own data, regulatory constraints and domain logic. ### What are Anthropic and OpenAI doing beyond selling model access? Anthropic said on May 4 that it formed a new AI services company with Blackstone, Hellman & Friedman and Goldman Sachs. (theinformation.com) Anthropic said the standalone firm would work with companies to bring Claude into core operations, with Anthropic engineering and partnership resources embedded directly in the team. OpenAI said on May 11 that it launched the OpenAI Deployment Company with more than $4 billion in initial investment. OpenAI said the partnership is led by TPG, with Advent, Bain Capital and Brookfield as co-lead founding partners, and includes consulting and systems integration firms such as Bain & Company, Capgemini and McKinsey & Company. (business-standard.com) Reuters reported on May 11 that OpenAI was also acquiring an AI consulting firm as part of that push to help organizations build and deploy AI systems. (blackstone.com) ### Why are Indian IT services companies showing up in this discussion? Rediff reported on May 18 that the rise of OpenAI and Anthropic as direct enterprise execution partners is creating pressure for Indian IT services groups including Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and HCLTech. The report said the model companies are moving beyond enabling software capabilities toward workflow ownership and decision orchestration. (openai.com) Business Standard reported earlier this month that Mahendra Dhillon of MOAR Advisory described the shift as a direct challenge to the engagement model that built the Indian IT industry. (msn.com) Infosys has partnered with both Anthropic and OpenAI this year, according to Rediff. ### What should readers watch next? May 2026 has already produced two concrete next steps: Anthropic’s new services firm is starting work around Claude deployments, and OpenAI’s Deployment Company has launched with named investors and consulting partners. (rediff.com) The next public markers are likely to come through customer wins, pricing disclosures, and future updates to The Information’s startup revenue database. (blackstone.com) (business-standard.com)