Investors comparing the revenue of Anthropic and OpenAI are looking at numbers built on two different accounting methods, according to Bloomberg. Anthropic books gross sales made through its cloud partners, while OpenAI records only its net share of similar deals.
The gap matters because both companies are private and their headline revenue figures are often cited side by side by analysts and the press. A gross figure and a net figure can describe the same underlying business activity while producing very different totals.
Why OpenAI and Anthropic revenue figures differ
Anthropic's approach shows the full value of what customers pay when they buy its models through cloud providers, without subtracting the partner's cut. OpenAI's approach shows only the slice that stays with the company after partners take their share.
Neither method is improper, but mixing them in a single comparison can overstate or understate how close the two companies really are. Bloomberg's report, flagged by Techmeme, notes the difference in how each company calculates the figures it puts out.
- Anthropic: reports gross sales generated through cloud partners
- OpenAI: reports only its net share of partner sales
- The two methodologies are not directly comparable
What it means for you
For people in Tunisia watching the AI race, the practical lesson is to check the fine print before quoting revenue comparisons between Anthropic and OpenAI. A number described as revenue may count either everything customers pay or only what the company keeps.
