OpenAI Gaining Ground on Anthropic Among Business Users, Ramp Data Shows

August 21, 2026

Corporate expense management firm Ramp has released fresh data showing that OpenAI has started closing the market share gap with Anthropic among United States businesses during the third quarter. While Anthropic continues to hold the overall lead in paying enterprise users on the platform, OpenAI is currently recording faster quarterly expansion.

What Happened

Neither OpenAI nor Anthropic has reached the stage of an initial public offering to disclose certified financial metrics, making corporate spend data an important indicator of market traction. According to figures compiled by Ramp, which tracks billions of dollars in expenditures across more than 70,000 U.S. businesses, OpenAI surrendered its long-held lead among business users in May. At that time, Anthropic captured 41 percent of the market share compared to OpenAI’s 39 percent.

By July, Anthropic’s share climbed to nearly 44 percent, while OpenAI stood at nearly 40 percent. However, Ramp economist Ara Kharazian reported that OpenAI is currently growing faster than Anthropic in the third quarter to date. Kharazian attributed this recent momentum to developer preference for OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 Sol model, while noting that Anthropic’s higher-tier model, Fable 5, faced hurdles due to pricing and regulatory data retention rules requiring 30-day retention.

Key Highlights

Anthropic surpassed OpenAI among Ramp corporate card users in May, holding 41 percent to OpenAI’s 39 percent.
As of July, Anthropic maintained a lead with nearly 44 percent market share versus nearly 40 percent for OpenAI.
Third-quarter data to date indicates OpenAI is expanding at a quicker rate than Anthropic.
Adoption across the board is rising: the proportion of Ramp business clients paying for artificial intelligence services crossed 50 percent in March and touched nearly 56 percent by July.
Ramp’s figures reflect percentage distribution rather than absolute dollar volumes and exclude organizations that rely on competing expense managers such as American Express.

Why This Matters

The shifting figures suggest enterprise AI preferences remain fluid rather than locked in. Businesses are showing a readiness to alter spending patterns based on newly released models and pricing tiers, highlighting that spending among business users may not be entirely stable for either developer. At the same time, the data shows an expanding overall pie: commercial adoption continues to rise steadily, meaning both competitors are positioned for broader top-line revenue growth across the corporate sector.

What to Watch Next

With a full month remaining in the third quarter, spending patterns could shift before final quarterly figures settle. Observers will also be monitoring how enterprise customers respond to model updates, tier pricing, and compliance requirements like data retention rules moving forward.

Frequently Asked Questions

What company provided the data on OpenAI and Anthropic?

The spending patterns were tracked and reported by Ramp, a corporate credit card and expense management provider serving more than 70,000 American companies.

Which artificial intelligence firm currently holds the larger share on Ramp?

As of July, Anthropic retained the larger market share at nearly 44 percent, compared to nearly 40 percent for OpenAI.

Why is OpenAI currently gaining ground?

Ramp’s analysis points to strong developer adoption of OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 Sol model during the third quarter, alongside adoption friction for Anthropic’s higher-end Fable 5 model linked to costs and regulatory data retention obligations.

Source: TechCrunch reporting based on data published by Ramp economist Ara Kharazian.