OpenAI vs Anthropic: AI Business War Heats Up in 2026

Two leading artificial intelligence startups, OpenAI (ChatGPT) and Anthropic (Claude), are preparing for what many experts call a make-or-break year. Both companies are growing fast, but they are also spending heavily. Now, they must prove they can build a business that earns more money than it loses.

The biggest competition between OpenAI and Anthropic — along with tech giants like Google — is focused on one goal: winning corporate customers. Companies across the world are looking for AI tools that can improve workplace productivity, automate tasks, and support employees.

Anthropic attacks OpenAI over advertising

The rivalry has now reached mainstream audiences as well.

Anthropic is airing two commercials during the Super Bowl, mocking OpenAI for moving toward digital advertising on free and cheaper versions of ChatGPT.

Anthropic’s ads show the risk of “manipulative chatbots” — shown as overly friendly people — who build trust with users and then try to sell products. The message ends clearly:

“Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude.”

The commercial also features the opening beat and lyrics of Dr. Dre’s “What’s the Difference.”

Sam Altman responds

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman responded publicly, calling the ads “funny” but also “dishonest.”

He criticized Anthropic’s approach by saying:

• Anthropic sells an expensive product mainly to wealthy customers

• More Texans use ChatGPT for free than the total number of Claude users in the US

OpenAI president and co-founder Greg Brockman also challenged Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, questioning whether Claude will truly never sell user attention or data to advertisers. Amodei did not respond publicly.

Why OpenAI and Anthropic became rivals

The competition goes back to 2021, when Dario Amodei and several OpenAI leaders left and formed Anthropic. They promised stronger focus on AI safety and the future goal of building artificial general intelligence (AGI).

Later in 2022, OpenAI launched ChatGPT and showed the massive commercial value of AI chatbots for writing emails, homework, and computer code.

Both companies launch major updates

This week, both companies released new products, increasing the competition even more.

OpenAI launched “Frontier”, a new platform designed for businesses. It aims to help companies adopt AI tools — including tools not built by OpenAI — and push the market toward AI agents that can work like “AI co-workers.”

OpenAI’s CEO of applications Fidji Simo said the platform could generate massive enterprise revenue in the future.

Meanwhile, Anthropic upgraded Claude Opus 4.6, calling it its smartest model so far. The company claimed the new version:

• Plans more carefully

• Works longer on agent-style tasks

• Operates better inside large codebases

• Detects and corrects its own mistakes

Soon after, OpenAI launched a new version of Codex, its coding tool, saying it can handle almost everything professionals do on a computer.

Experts say the real battle is the platform

Industry experts say both companies are trying to become platform companies, not just model makers.

Gartner analyst Arun Chandrasekaran explained that AI models matter, but the bigger goal is building platforms that businesses depend on.

Google, Microsoft, Amazon also shape the fight

OpenAI and Anthropic are not only competing with each other.

They also face strong competition from:

• Google, which has Gemini and its own cloud business

• Microsoft, which owns about 27% stake in OpenAI

• Amazon, Anthropic’s main cloud provider

Research groups say businesses often choose major cloud providers first because they offer a complete package of services. AI model companies like OpenAI and Anthropic usually come second.

Biggest concern for businesses: security and compliance

Analysts say there is still a major gap in the market.

Businesses want stronger security, compliance, and data protection before they allow AI agents to access sensitive systems.

IDC research director Nancy Gohring said adopting AI agents is risky because they may access company data and tools.

Elon Musk’s Grok not yet a major enterprise rival

Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok, linked to his newly merged SpaceX and AI business, is not yet considered a serious enterprise competitor.

However, Musk is still a major figure in the AI race. He is currently suing OpenAI in a case expected to go to trial in April.

Why profitability is a major challenge

Even though OpenAI and Anthropic are earning billions in revenue from subscriptions and business deals, the main problem is cost.

Running advanced AI requires huge spending on:

• Computer chips

• Data centers

• Electricity and infrastructure

OpenAI has also said it has over $1 trillion in financial obligations to backers such as Oracle, Microsoft, and Nvidia, who are supporting computing costs with the expectation of future returns.

Forrester analyst Charlie Dai said investors are still willing to fund both companies despite heavy losses because the race for frontier AI models requires massive capital.

OpenAI’s focus: enterprise outcomes

OpenAI’s newly hired Chief Revenue Officer Denise Dresser said the company is focused on building the best enterprise platform across industries.

She added that CEOs feel urgency because AI is becoming a major business advantage, and companies do not want to fall behind.