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OpenAI and Anthropic earn money by selling access to AI through subscriptions, enterprise agreements, application programming interfaces (APIs), and cloud distribution. OpenAI’s nonprofit OpenAI Foundation formally controls OpenAI Group through special voting rights, even though Microsoft is a major shareholder and commercial partner. Anthropic is a public benefit corporation governed by a board elected by stockholders and its Long-Term Benefit Trust, which is designed to gain majority board-selection power. Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and other investors supply capital, computing capacity, licenses, or distribution, but those economic relationships are not the same as appointing the companies’ boards.
The distinction matters because the company that sells access to a model, the investor with the largest economic stake, the cloud that hosts it, and the body that can remove directors may all be different.
How do OpenAI and Anthropic make money?
Both companies use a mixed software-and-infrastructure model. They charge individuals and organizations for product subscriptions, sell usage through APIs, negotiate enterprise contracts, and distribute models through cloud platforms. OpenAI also has significant licensing and distribution arrangements with Microsoft. Anthropic describes its own model as revenue from enterprise contracts and paid subscriptions, reinvested into improving Claude.
| Revenue channel | OpenAI | Anthropic |
|---|---|---|
| Consumer subscriptions | Paid access to ChatGPT and related products | Paid Claude subscriptions |
| Enterprise contracts | Business access, deployments and related services | Enterprise contracts are a stated core revenue source |
| API usage | Developers pay to call OpenAI models through APIs | Developers pay to use the Claude API |
| Cloud distribution | Microsoft Azure distribution and integration | Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud Vertex AI and Microsoft Azure |
| Licensing and commercial partnerships | Microsoft has rights involving OpenAI intellectual property, models and infrastructure, alongside revenue sharing | Cloud and infrastructure partnerships support distribution and capacity |
OpenAI’s commercial engine
OpenAI created a for-profit subsidiary in 2019 so it could raise capital, hire at scale and deploy products while remaining under nonprofit control. Its direct business includes ChatGPT subscriptions, business offerings and API access. Each API call is metered according to the model and usage terms, while subscription and enterprise arrangements provide recurring access to products and administrative features.
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Microsoft adds a second layer to OpenAI’s monetization. The companies have revenue-sharing arrangements, Azure distribution rights and contracts covering OpenAI intellectual property, including models and infrastructure. Microsoft integrates that technology into products such as Copilot and sells access through its cloud ecosystem. In Microsoft’s FY2026 Form 10-K, Microsoft reported $24.1 billion in revenue from commercial arrangements with OpenAI. That is revenue recognized by Microsoft under its partner arrangements; it is not a disclosed, company-wide OpenAI revenue figure and should not be treated as one.
Anthropic’s commercial engine
Anthropic states: “Our business model is straightforward: we generate revenue through enterprise contracts and paid subscriptions, and we reinvest that revenue into improving Claude for our users.” Claude is sold directly to subscribers and organizations, and developers can purchase model access through the Claude API.
Anthropic also distributes Claude through major cloud marketplaces. Anthropic says more than 100,000 customers run Claude on Amazon Bedrock. Its partnership disclosures identify Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud Vertex AI and Microsoft Azure as cloud platforms for Claude. Cloud distribution lets an organization buy model capacity through an existing cloud account, while Anthropic still develops and governs the underlying model company.
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Anthropic reported run-rate revenue above $30 billion in April 2026, compared with approximately $9 billion at the end of 2025. A May 2026 funding announcement said run-rate revenue had crossed $47 billion. These are run-rate figures: an annualized estimate based on a recent revenue pace, not audited annual revenue recognized over a completed fiscal year.
Run-rate figures can rise quickly when usage or bookings accelerate, but they do not by themselves show how much cash the company collected during the year, how much revenue was recognized under accounting rules, or how profitable the business was. The three Anthropic figures therefore describe momentum at particular points in time rather than a directly comparable annual-sales series.
Who controls OpenAI?
The OpenAI Foundation is the formal controlling body of OpenAI Group. OpenAI says the Foundation appoints all members of OpenAI Group’s board of directors and can replace directors at any time. Those special voting and governance rights give the Foundation control over the board even though it does not hold all of the company’s economic equity.
How is OpenAI’s ownership split?
OpenAI’s current structure page says that, at recapitalization closing, the OpenAI Foundation held a 26% equity stake valued at approximately $130 billion. Microsoft held roughly 27%, while employees and other investors held the remaining 47%. The percentages describe economic ownership at that point; they do not describe who can appoint directors.
This is the key separation between ownership and control. A shareholder can own a large financial interest and receive economic benefits without having the special rights needed to select or remove the board. Under OpenAI’s stated structure, those decisive rights belong to the Foundation.
What influence does Microsoft have?
Microsoft is a major shareholder and a central commercial partner. Its agreements cover access to OpenAI intellectual property, models and infrastructure, Azure hosting and distribution, and revenue sharing. These contracts can give Microsoft substantial influence over where and how OpenAI technology is delivered and how the partnership produces revenue.
That influence is contractual and economic, not the same as formal board control. The Foundation’s power to appoint and replace OpenAI Group directors remains the governance mechanism that determines who oversees the company and its chief executive.
Who controls Anthropic?
Anthropic is a public benefit corporation. Its board is elected by stockholders and by the Long-Term Benefit Trust, an independent body of financially disinterested trustees. Anthropic designed the Trust to increase its board-selection authority over time rather than give a single investor permanent control.
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Anthropic’s governance design gives its Class T stock authority to elect and remove directors. When Anthropic announced the structure in 2023, it stated that the Trust was intended to elect a majority of the board within four years. Anthropic’s current transparency information reiterates that the Trust will, over time, appoint a majority of directors.
The board—not Amazon, Google, Microsoft or another cloud partner—handles ordinary corporate decisions and oversees the chief executive. The Trust’s role is important because its trustees are intended to represent Anthropic’s long-term public-benefit purpose rather than the short-term interests of a financial investor.
What role does Amazon play?
Amazon is a significant investor, infrastructure provider and distribution partner, but it is a minority investor. Amazon’s November 2024 announcement said its total investment in Anthropic had reached $8 billion. In April 2026, Amazon announced an additional $5 billion investment and the possibility of up to $20 billion more in the future.
Those amounts show the economic importance of the relationship and help fund computing capacity. They do not, by themselves, give Amazon the right to appoint Anthropic’s board. Board authority remains with the stockholder-and-Trust election system.
Does Microsoft control OpenAI or Amazon control Anthropic?
No—not according to the companies’ stated governance structures. Microsoft and Amazon can have extensive economic and operational influence through investments, cloud contracts, intellectual-property rights and distribution. Formal control is determined by who can select and remove directors.
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| Question | OpenAI | Anthropic |
|---|---|---|
| Formal controlling mechanism | OpenAI Foundation’s special voting and governance rights | Board elected by stockholders and the Long-Term Benefit Trust |
| Who can appoint or remove directors? | The Foundation appoints all OpenAI Group directors and can replace them at any time | Stockholders and the Trust; the Trust is designed to gain a majority over time |
| Major cloud or strategic partner | Microsoft and Azure | Amazon, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure |
| Partner’s economic role | Equity, intellectual-property and infrastructure rights, Azure distribution and revenue sharing | Investment, cloud capacity and distribution through Bedrock |
| Does the partner automatically control the board? | No | No |
Who owns the AI models, and who decides where people can use them?
“Ownership” has several meanings in AI. The company may develop and operate the model, an investor may hold shares, a cloud provider may receive contractual rights to distribute or integrate the technology, and customers may receive permission to use it under product or API terms. These are different rights.
OpenAI model access
OpenAI develops and sells access to its models through ChatGPT, APIs and business products. Microsoft’s agreements include rights to OpenAI intellectual property, models and infrastructure and support Azure distribution. That arrangement can make OpenAI models available inside Microsoft products and through Azure without transferring the Foundation’s board-control rights.
Claude model access
Anthropic develops Claude and sells it directly through subscriptions, enterprise arrangements and its API. Customers can also obtain Claude through Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud Vertex AI and Microsoft Azure. A cloud customer’s contract with one of those platforms provides a route to use the model; it does not make the customer or cloud provider the controlling owner of Anthropic.
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Use the label attached to each number before drawing a conclusion. Microsoft’s $24.1 billion figure is partner revenue recognized by Microsoft in FY2026. Anthropic’s $30 billion, $9 billion and $47 billion figures are run-rate estimates announced at different dates. None of those figures is a clean like-for-like comparison with the other company’s audited annual revenue.
| Figure | What it represents | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| $24.1 billion | Microsoft revenue from commercial arrangements with OpenAI | Microsoft FY2026 Form 10-K; partner-recognized revenue, not OpenAI’s total revenue |
| Above $30 billion | Anthropic run-rate revenue | Reported in April 2026; annualized pace, not audited annual revenue |
| Approximately $9 billion | Anthropic run-rate revenue | Reported at the end of 2025; annualized pace |
| Above $47 billion | Anthropic run-rate revenue | Reported in May 2026; annualized pace |
A sensible comparison therefore has two stages: first identify whether a number is recognized revenue, bookings, or run-rate; then identify whose books contain it and which period it covers. Skipping either step can make a partner’s revenue look like the AI company’s revenue or make an annualized estimate look like completed sales.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why do these control arrangements matter to users and businesses?
Governance affects strategic direction, leadership oversight and the ability to change a company’s priorities. Commercial contracts affect availability, pricing relationships, integration options and which cloud account a business can use. They answer different questions.
- If you want to know who can replace the leadership overseeing a model company, examine board appointment and removal rights.
- If you want to know where a model can be deployed, examine API terms, product availability and cloud-distribution agreements.
- If you want to understand financial dependence, examine investments, infrastructure commitments, revenue sharing and customer concentration.
- If you want to compare company size, use figures with the same accounting definition and time period.
This framework explains why a cloud provider can be indispensable to a model’s distribution without being its formal controller, and why a nonprofit can control a company’s board without owning the majority of its economic equity.
What are the clearest answers to the ownership questions?
Who owns OpenAI?
OpenAI’s stated recapitalization structure gives equity to the OpenAI Foundation, Microsoft, employees and other investors. The Foundation held 26% at closing, but its special governance rights—not that percentage alone—give it formal control of OpenAI Group’s board.
Who owns Claude?
Claude is Anthropic’s model family. Anthropic is the company that develops and commercializes it, while cloud partners provide additional channels through which customers can access it.
How does ChatGPT make money?
ChatGPT is part of OpenAI’s direct product business, which includes paid subscriptions and business access. OpenAI also monetizes its models through API usage, enterprise arrangements and Microsoft-related licensing and distribution.
How does Claude make money?
Anthropic says it earns revenue from enterprise contracts and paid subscriptions, with additional access through the Claude API and cloud platforms such as Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud Vertex AI and Microsoft Azure.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is a controlling board right the same as owning most of a company?
No. Equity determines an economic interest, while special voting provisions determine who selects directors. OpenAI’s structure demonstrates how a Foundation can control the board with a minority equity stake.
What does run-rate revenue mean for an AI company?
It is an annualized estimate based on a recent pace of sales or usage. It can signal rapid growth, but it is not the same as audited revenue reported for a completed year and does not establish profitability.
Can a business use Claude without buying computing directly from Anthropic?
Yes. Anthropic distributes Claude through Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud Vertex AI and Microsoft Azure, so an organization may access it through an existing cloud relationship. The available commercial terms depend on the chosen platform and contract.
Why is Microsoft’s OpenAI revenue figure not OpenAI’s revenue?
The $24.1 billion figure comes from Microsoft’s FY2026 Form 10-K and represents revenue Microsoft recognized from its commercial arrangements with OpenAI. It does not disclose the total revenue OpenAI recorded across its own subscriptions, APIs, enterprise contracts and other channels.
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