VC

August 2, 2025

Published 16 days ago

TL;DR

Anthropic leads enterprise AI share; OpenAI’s ChatGPT hits 5M business users; SEC eases crypto ETF rules.


Highlights

  • Anthropic surpassed OpenAI in enterprise AI model share (32% vs 25%), driven by Claude’s code generation and output quality; company now at $3B ARR and $61.5B valuation 1.
  • OpenAI’s ChatGPT business subscriptions jumped 66% in July to over 5 million, ahead of GPT-5’s August launch and a new lower-priced tier 2.
  • Anthropic blocked OpenAI’s access to Claude Code API over terms breaches, reflecting intensifying competition among leading AI model providers 5.
  • OpenAI’s GPT-5 will offer incremental improvements in coding, math, and agent control, but faces technical and data challenges 3.
  • xAI launched Grok Imagine (text-to-video tool) on X, with a funding round targeting up to $200B valuation 4.
  • Meta failed to rehire AI veteran Andrew Tulloch despite a $1.5B offer; Tulloch remains at Thinking Machines, which is nearing a high-valuation Series B 7.
  • China’s NOETIX delivered 105 humanoid robots in July; China leads globally with 1,500+ large AI models launched 6.
  • Microsoft briefly hit $4T valuation, driven by strong Azure and AI demand; hyperscalers invested $88B in capex last quarter 89.
  • SEC’s “Project Crypto” eases ETF rules for Bitcoin/Ether and clarifies token classifications, prompting new crypto ETF filings and institutional partnerships 10.
  • Sharplink Gaming accumulated 464,000 ETH ($1.63B) via OTC purchases, highlighting ongoing institutional activity in Ethereum 14.

Commentary

Enterprise AI competition is intensifying, with Anthropic overtaking OpenAI in enterprise model share and reporting rapid revenue growth 1. The willingness of corporate buyers to pay a premium for model performance is shifting market share and raising the bar for technical differentiation 1. The API access dispute between Anthropic and OpenAI underscores the strategic value—and vulnerability—of proprietary model APIs, which may influence how startups structure commercial partnerships and protect IP 5.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT continues to scale rapidly in the enterprise 2, but upcoming GPT-5 improvements are expected to be incremental amid industry-wide technical bottlenecks 3. This suggests that future competitive advantage will likely come from specialized capabilities, integration, and talent rather than headline-grabbing model leaps 3. The failed $1.5B talent bid by Meta for Andrew Tulloch further highlights the premium on AI expertise, with top engineers opting for equity and upside in high-growth startups over big tech salaries 7.

xAI’s Grok Imagine launch and the company’s pursuit of a $200B valuation signal that investor appetite for AI-driven content platforms remains high, especially those with differentiated functionality or distribution 4. Meanwhile, China’s rapid humanoid robotics deployment and large-scale model output point to continued global competition and potential opportunities for cross-border investment or technology transfer 6.

On the digital asset front, the SEC’s new crypto policy and ETF rule changes are expected to drive institutional flows and product innovation, as seen in Sharplink Gaming’s sizable ETH accumulation 1014. These regulatory shifts may benefit VC-backed fintech and infrastructure startups positioned for compliance and scale 10.

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