Anthropic's corporate clients are increasingly choosing more affordable models over the flagship Fable 5. According to payment company Ramp, which analyzed spending data from 70 000 companies, more than 2 months after launch, Fable 5 accounts for only about 11% of total client spending on Anthropic tools.
The data points to a shift in business behavior: previously, companies more often upgraded to the most powerful available solutions. One of the main reasons for the shift is Fable 5's high price, while previous versions are capable of handling most typical tasks. Accel partner Miles Clements noted that most users do not need cutting-edge capabilities, and the period of universally choosing flagship models was never sustainable. The availability of cheaper open-weight solutions from other developers is also influencing the choice.
The position of OpenAI has also strengthened following the launch of GPT 5.6 in July, which is significantly cheaper than Fable 5. According to sources, OpenAI's annualized revenue for the current quarter rose 35% and exceeded $40 billion. Another telling example is Claude Opus 5. Despite being cheaper than Fable 5, it has already surpassed Anthropic's flagship in corporate spending volume since its launch in late July.
An additional factor constraining Fable 5's adoption was data storage regulations and administrative restrictions imposed by US authorities, which forced a temporary delay of the model's rollout. Nevertheless, Anthropic continues to show rapid growth. In July, the company's annualized revenue reached $65 billion, up from $47 billion in May, and has grown nearly 7x since the start of the year. In Q2, the company recorded its first adjusted operating profit and expects to maintain it in Q3. Anthropic has around 6 000 clients spending at least $100 000 per year.
The situation takes on particular significance ahead of Anthropic's anticipated IPO. Weaker demand for the most expensive model raises questions about the effectiveness of AI scaling economics. Ramp chief economist Ara Harazyan noted that predicting the company's trajectory is extremely difficult: while Anthropic was previously expected to dominate the market, the success of competitors' new models and the underwhelming performance of Fable 5 have shifted the dynamics. Meanwhile, other affordable alternatives are emerging in the market — for example, GLM-5.2, released by startup Z ai, which is 6 times cheaper than comparable models.