Thousands of tech professionals gathered at San Francisco’s Moscone Center this week for the HumanX AI conference, where conversations zeroed in on how agentic AI is transforming business operations. These automated systems, which handle coding and enterprise tasks, are being rolled out widely via chatbots. Amid the buzz, one name surfaced repeatedly in discussions with attendees and panelists: Claude, the chatbot from Anthropic.
Vendors on the expo floor and speakers across sessions frequently highlighted Claude’s adoption, while mentions of ChatGPT were notably sparse. One vendor explicitly stated that his team relies heavily on Claude, criticizing ChatGPT and OpenAI for having “gone downhill”—a sentiment echoing online chatter about the company “falling off.” This perception persists despite OpenAI’s recent $122 billion funding round and its upcoming IPO, raising questions about whether the firm has lost its strategic footing or simply faces heightened competition.
OpenAI’s challenges appear partly rooted in a perceived lack of focus. Last month, the company shelved several long-running projects, including its AI video generator Sora and a plan for a “sexy” version of ChatGPT, opting instead to concentrate on business and coding services. Negative publicity has compounded these issues, such as a recent New Yorker article casting doubt on CEO Sam Altman’s trustworthiness. Additional controversies include OpenAI’s work with the Trump administration and its decision to introduce ads into ChatGPT, further denting its image.
During a HumanX panel, Sierra co-founder and CEO Bret Taylor, who chairs OpenAI’s board, defended Altman when questioned by Alex Heath about the New Yorker profile. “I think Sam is one of the most visible leaders and executives in the world,” Taylor said. “If you want to seek out detractors for him, you’ll find them, and they’ll be very vocal about it. I think Sam’s remarkable. I think he’s a remarkable leader of AI, and I really trust his character as someone who’s worked with him.”
These vacillations and controversies risk painting OpenAI as reactive rather than strategic, seemingly responding to events rather than driving them. Yet, in terms of market presence and revenue, OpenAI and Anthropic remain closely matched. Data indicates Anthropic is catching up among business users, and a Wall Street Journal analysis of their finances labeled both as “the fastest-growing businesses in the history of tech.” For OpenAI, “falling off” might simply mean it’s no longer the unchallenged leader but now faces robust competition—a normal dynamic in most industries.
OpenAI is clearly determined to maintain dominance. This week, it announced a new $100 subscription tier for ChatGPT, offering expanded access to Codex, its coding tool. This move aims to boost usage and potentially lure users away from Claude Code. During a HumanX discussion with Bloomberg reporter Rachel Metz, OpenAI CTO of B2B applications Srinivas Narayanan emphasized the rapid pace of technological change. “We are in this incredible moment in technology, where every month, and sometimes every day, we are all looking forward to something new,” Narayanan said. He cited agentic coding as an example, noting, “We knew AI was going to impact software engineering, people have been using assistive coding over the last year, but even in just the last few months, the entire field has changed.”
Agentic achievements currently command significant attention in the tech community, as other AI applications like creative uses have yet to fully materialize. The scale at which companies are delegating work to these automated assistants is striking, and as Narayanan observed, this shift has occurred remarkably quickly. In such a volatile landscape, the future remains wide open, with both OpenAI and Anthropic vying for supremacy in an unpredictable market.
