San Francisco’s Moscone Center hosted the HumanX AI conference this week, drawing over 6,500 executives, founders, and investors. Thousands of techies descended upon the venue, where discussion focused on how agentic AI is changing business.
Naturally, I wanted to know which chatbot was the most popular. I consistently heard one name most often: Claude.
Anthropic got shoutouts in panels throughout the week. It was also a topic of discussion with vendors on the convention floor. The chatbot I didn’t hear a lot about? ChatGPT.
One vendor made a point of telling me that he and his team used Claude a lot, while he felt ChatGPT and OpenAI had gone downhill - or, as the internet likes to say, “fell off.” Lately, that does not appear to be a particularly unique take.
The “Claude Mania” That Became a Religion
If you asked attendees at HumanX for one AI tool, the answer was unanimous. Arvind Jain, CEO of enterprise AI company Glean, said Claude Code has inspired “Claude Mania.” “It has become a religion, that’s the level of that mania,” Jain said in an interview. “Everybody, if you go and ask them today, ‘Hey, if I gave you one AI tool, what tool would you want?’ The answer would be Claude.”
Claude Code launched to the general public in May 2025, and as of February was generating more than $2.5 billion in annualized revenue. The tool was on everyone’s lips, even as many attendees acknowledged that OpenAI, Cursor and Google are offering strong alternatives.
The sentiment marks a sharp contrast with the first HumanX last year, where most VCs were placing their chips on OpenAI. “In Vegas last year, it felt like OpenAI was the clear winner, and now it seems like Anthropic is miles ahead,” said Roseanne Winsek of Renegade Partners. “The Anthropic product is so good.”
OpenAI’s Side Quests and Perception Problem
The contrast in focus between the two companies has become impossible to ignore. OpenAI recently abandoned a number of long-simmering side quests, including its AI video generator Sora and a troubled plan to launch a “sexy” version of ChatGPT, locking in instead on business and coding services.
But the damage to perception may already be done. A recent New Yorker profile questioned whether the company’s CEO, Sam Altman, was trustworthy. The company’s work with the Trump administration hasn’t won it any friends either, nor has its decision to inject advertising into ChatGPT.
The controversies and vacillations can make OpenAI seem reactive rather than strategic, as if it’s simply responding to events rather than shaping them. Victor Riparbelli, CEO of AI video company Synthesia, said Anthropic has managed to demonstrate focus and restraint. “The guys at Anthropic were just like, ‘We’re not going to do anything about video, we’re not going to care about voice models, we’re just going to solve code gen,’ and now we’re here.”
The Numbers That Explain Everything
While OpenAI has roughly 900 million weekly active users, mostly consumers, Anthropic’s enterprise momentum is accelerating rapidly. According to Ramp data based on $100 billion in annual spending from 50,000 customers, nearly a third of American businesses paid for Anthropic’s AI offerings in March - an increase of more than 6 percentage points from the prior month.
In March, downloads of Anthropic’s Claude chatbot tripled to 21 million, while ChatGPT downloads rose just 5%. Also in March, ChatGPT’s weekly active users in the U.S. declined from month to month for the first time in around two years.
Anthropic’s run-rate revenue recently surpassed $30 billion, up from $9 billion at the end of 2025. “They’re crushing it,” said Jared Quincy Davis, founder and CEO of Mithril, an AI cloud platform, referring to Anthropic. “It’s pretty clear that the focus that they had on enterprise, on frontier capabilities, on coding, and making deliberate decisions not to go into some consumer use cases, were great decisions.”
The Job Disruption Elephant in the Room
The conference wasn’t all praise for Claude. A blunt advertisement at the entrance set an unsettling tone: “Stop hiring humans.”
On the main stage, May Habib, CEO of AI platform Writer, told the audience that Fortune 500 bosses are having a “collective panic attack” on the subject. The anxiety is well-founded. Salesforce laid off 4,000 customer support workers, saying AI now handles 50% of its work. Block chief Jack Dorsey announced plans to cut the company’s headcount nearly in half, citing “intelligence tools” that have fundamentally changed how companies operate.
While some economists say firms are pointing to AI to rationalize layoffs that are really about past overhiring, the disruption is real. AWS CEO Matt Garman said AI is going to “transform every single company, every single job, every single way that we do work.”
Not everyone agrees on the path forward. Nvidia chief Jensen Huang famously declared that the ultimate goal was to make it so “nobody has to program.” Andrew Ng, founder of DeepLearning.AI, shot back: “We will look back on that as some of the worst career advice ever given.” In his view, coding is not obsolete - AI has simply made it available to more people. However, he acknowledged that with AI, a project that once required 15 engineers might now need only two.
Read also: The AI Tool Everyone Trusted Just Became a Backdoor. Mercor Learned the Hard Way.
The Anthropic vs. OpenAI: Enterprise Battle
The enterprise LLM API market tells a similar story. Anthropic’s share climbed to 32% versus OpenAI’s 25%. Seven out of ten new enterprise customers are now choosing Anthropic. According to Menlo Ventures, Anthropic’s enterprise AI market share reached 40%, surpassing OpenAI’s 27%.
Ramp data from March 2026 shows 56% of companies using Anthropic, compared with 29% the previous year. OpenAI remains dominant among large enterprises but is losing share among smaller firms.
Part of the shift is cultural. In February, Anthropic refused a $200 million Pentagon contract - a moral stand that boosted its brand. Downloads surged 69% in a single day, pushing Claude to the top of Apple’s free charts. Positive narrative scores for Anthropic rose to 63.9 out of 100, while OpenAI fell to 49.3.
The Bottom Line: Claude’s Defining Week
HumanX 2026 will likely be remembered as the week the AI industry’s center of gravity shifted. Anthropic unveiled Claude Mythos Preview, a new model with advanced cybersecurity capabilities that sparked significant buzz, even though access is limited to roughly 50 companies. Cisco president Jeetu Patel noted that many firms are beginning to treat AI systems as “digital coworkers,” changing how teams are organised and how work is delivered.
The question now is whether Anthropic can maintain its momentum. OpenAI is still massive, with unmatched consumer reach. But for the enterprise customers who write the biggest checks, the preference has become clear. And at HumanX, that preference had a name: Claude.
Read also: Claude vs. ChatGPT vs. Gemini: The Winner Isn't Who You Think
What You Should Do Now
If you’re a business leader or developer watching these shifts, here’s your action plan:
1. Audit your AI stack. If your team is still defaulting to ChatGPT, ask why. Claude’s enterprise adoption is surging for a reason.
2. Train your team on prompt engineering. The gap between casual AI use and production-ready automation is widening. Don’t get left behind.
3. Watch the job market. If AI can now handle 50% of customer support work, what percentage of your role could it handle? Be honest with yourself.
4. Diversify your providers. Don’t build your business on rented land. If you’re dependent on one AI vendor, you’re one policy change away from disruption.
The “Claude Mania” isn’t just hype. It’s a signal. Pay attention.
Share This With Your Tech Network
Tag a colleague who still thinks OpenAI is untouchable. Share this in your company Slack. Post it on LinkedIn with the caption: “At HumanX this week, the vibe shift was undeniable. Claude is the new favorite. Here’s what you need to know.”
The AI landscape just changed. Don’t be the last to notice.
FAQ
Q: Is Anthropic really overtaking OpenAI?
A: In enterprise adoption, yes. According to multiple data sources, Anthropic’s enterprise LLM API market share reached 32% versus OpenAI’s 25%, with seven out of ten new enterprise customers choosing Anthropic. However, OpenAI remains dominant in consumer usage.
Q: What is Claude Code, and why is it so popular?
A: Claude Code is Anthropic’s AI coding agent, launched in May 2025. It generates, edits, and reviews code, and as of February was generating more than $2.5 billion in annualized revenue.
Q: What is Claude Mythos Preview?
A: Announced at HumanX, Claude Mythos Preview is Anthropic’s new AI model with advanced cybersecurity capabilities. Its rollout is currently limited to roughly 50 companies.
Q: Should I be worried about AI taking my job?
A: The answer is nuanced. AI is transforming jobs, not just eliminating them. Andrew Ng argues coding is not obsolete - AI has made it available to more people. But he acknowledges that a project that once required 15 engineers might now need only two. The key is to develop human skills like critical thinking and judgment alongside technical capabilities.
Q: Is OpenAI in trouble?
A: Not financially. OpenAI has massive consumer reach and is preparing for an IPO. But the company faces perception challenges, including leadership controversies, strategic pivots, and growing enterprise competition from Anthropic.
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