Anthropic’s latest feud with the Trump admin may actually help it, sales data suggests

Anthropic, the AI lab, is experiencing a remarkable month. According to recent data from Ramp, the company has overtaken OpenAI in market share for business spending for the first time ever. In addition to this milestone, Anthropic secured $65 billion in funding at a staggering $965 billion valuation by the end of May, also surpassing OpenAI in this regard. The company then entered June by filing confidential documents for an IPO, buoyed by its first profitable quarter. However, the Trump administration has reignited tensions with Anthropic by issuing a letter demanding that the AI firm prohibit non-U.S. citizens, including its own employees, from accessing its advanced models, specifically the recently launched Mythos 5 and the more limited Fable 5. This directive effectively forced Anthropic to withdraw its highly sought-after model from the market. While the White House cited an obscure export control regulation for this ban, the reasoning remains somewhat ambiguous. Reports suggested that vulnerabilities in Fable 5's security measures, intended to safeguard access to Mythos, were exploited by hackers. The situation is further complicated by the fact that Anthropic previously refused to permit its models to be utilized for mass surveillance or fully autonomous weapons, leading the Trump administration to label the company as a supply chain risk. Despite these challenges, Ramp’s data indicates that Anthropic's business sales have not suffered; in fact, the recent controversy may be boosting its appeal. Ara Kharazian, Ramp's lead economist who analyzed the business spending data, noted that heightened attention around the company could actually enhance its standing. "If anything, it’ll probably boost them," Kharazian told TechCrunch, referring to the spike in Anthropic’s business adoption coinciding with its classification as a supply chain risk. Data reveals that Anthropic's share of AI subscriptions paid for by businesses increased to 41% in May, a rise of 2.5 percentage points, while OpenAI's share remained flat at 39.5%. Although OpenAI continues to lead in overall consumer usage, Anthropic's Opus models have seen significant uptake within the business sector. While it's unclear how the withdrawal of Mythos and Fable 5 will impact Anthropic's financial standing, the company’s available models are gaining traction among businesses. The recent release of Opus 4.8 and ongoing demand for the earlier Opus models suggest that Anthropic's offerings remain competitive and in demand, despite the current political challenges they face.