OpenAI considers AI price cuts as competition with Anthropic intensifies ahead of IPO filings

OpenAI mulls slashing prices as it competes with Anthropic for users: WSJ

OpenAI is mulling sharp price cuts to its artificial intelligence offerings, as it looks to woo consumers away from rival Anthropic, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday evening stateside, citing sources familiar with the matter. "The company is weighing significant cuts to what it charges for tokens, the unit of measurement artificial-intelligence firms use to bill for their products," the report said, adding that it was "in anticipation of similar cuts the company expects at Anthropic," according to sources. The ChatGPT producer, which did not immediately respond to CNBC's requests for comment, currently charges consumers in tiered subscriptions of $8, $20 and $100 and above each month for access to its flagship GPT-5.5 models. Anthropic conversely charges users $17 each month with an annual subscription to Claude Pro, and $100 and above monthly for a subscription to Claude Max. The report on possible price cuts come as competition has been ramping up between the two companies. OpenAI on Monday confidentially filed for an initial public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, close on the heels of an IPO filing from Anthropic. Anthropic closed its Series H funding round on May 28 at a $965 billion valuation, slightly edging out OpenAI, which was valued at $852 billion in March. ChatGPT became the first app to reach 1 billion monthly app users in May -- roughly three years after its November 2022 launch -- surpassing the previous record set by Google Maps, which took around five years after launch to reach the same milestone, according to estimates from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower. Read the full WSJ report here.

OpenAI could cut ChatGPT prices to win you over from Claude

A potential price war could test customer loyalty as switching between AI providers remains relatively easy. The AI industry's battle for customers could soon be good news for users' wallets. OpenAI is reportedly preparing steep cuts to its token costs to claw back enterprise momentum lost to rival Anthropic. OpenAI is considering reducing the cost of tokens, the units used to measure and bill for AI usage, before a possible similar action by its fast-rising competitor, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The potential change comes as businesses increasingly push back against the soaring costs of deploying AI. Token costs can add up quickly for companies that use AI at scale. This is particularly true for enterprise customers running coding assistants, agents, and other productivity tools that use huge amounts of computing resources. OpenAI's pricing discussions also show how much pressure Anthropic has been able to put on the market. In recent months, the younger company has gained momentum, thanks to the popularity of its offering, Claude Code, among software developers. That success has apparently helped boost Anthropic's revenue and even helped the startup eclipse OpenAI's valuation at one point. Since then, OpenAI has intensified its coding ambitions, placing greater internal emphasis on Codex. But cheaper AI won't automatically mean healthier profits. Both Anthropic and OpenAI are already spending billions on infrastructure to train models and serve users. More aggressive price cuts could squeeze margins even further. Some corporate customers are also beginning to question if their AI spend is delivering enough bang for their buck. Those concerns have ignited wider conversations in Silicon Valley about "tokenmaxxing" -- the notion of consuming as many AI tokens as possible to boost productivity, even when the financial return isn't always obvious. A pricing war could give some clues about how sticky these AI platforms truly are, and investors are closely watching. OpenAI and Anthropic are the big revenue winners in this AI boom, but they have a shared problem: Customers are more likely to churn than in many legacy software businesses.

OpenAI considers drastic price cuts, anticipating war for users with Anthropic: Report

The company might lower prices for tokens, the central unit for gauging AI costs, though the discussions are still in flux, ⁠the report added. OpenAI is considering drastically reducing the prices it charges users as it ⁠seeks ⁠to win customers from its competitor Anthropic, the Wall Street Journal reported on ⁠Wednesday, citing people familiar with the ⁠matter. The company might lower prices for tokens, the central unit for gauging AI costs, though the discussions are still in flux, ⁠the report added. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

OpenAI Weighs Major Pricing Shake-Up To Counter Anthropic As Both Companies Eye Trillion-Dollar IPO Dream

OpenAI is reportedly considering lowering the prices it charges for its artificial intelligence services as competition with rival Anthropic intensifies ahead of potential public market debuts. OpenAI Reportedly Considers Lower AI Pricing According to a Wall Street Journal report published Wednesday, OpenAI has discussed reducing the cost of tokens, the basic unit used to measure and bill AI usage. The discussions remain ongoing and no final decision has been made. OpenAI did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comments. The potential move comes as businesses increasingly scrutinize the cost of adopting AI technologies. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman earlier acknowledged that AI-related expenses have become a significant concern for customers and said the company is exploring ways to provide greater value while lowering costs. A pricing reduction could help OpenAI strengthen its position in the enterprise market, where Anthropic has gained momentum through its Claude Code software development platform, according to the report. OpenAI And Anthropic Advance Toward Potential IPOs The pricing deliberations come as both AI firms move closer to public listings. OpenAI announced Monday that it confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 to the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering. Prediction market platform Polymarket has assigned high odds that OpenAI could surpass a $1.5 trillion valuation at the close of its first day of trading. Anthropic has also confidentially filed paperwork for a potential IPO. Analysts have suggested the company could eventually achieve a valuation exceeding $1 trillion. In May, Anthropic surpassed OpenAI as the world's most valuable startup after raising $65 billion in a Series H funding round that valued the company at $965 billion. Separately, reports have indicated that OpenAI is developing its application into a broader super app that could combine coding tools, AI agents and other services within a single platform. Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.

OpenAI Weighs Price Cuts as Competition With Anthropic Takes Shape | PYMNTS.com

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday (June 11) that the discussions are still in flux, citing people familiar with the matter. But CEO Sam Altman has already been signaling the direction publicly. At a recent event, he acknowledged that AI costs have become "a huge issue" for business customers. "I think we'll have a lot of ways we can help people get more value for less spend," he said. The problem with that promise is that both companies are already losing billions of dollars. The computing costs required to run AI systems at scale are enormous, and cutting token prices would compress margins further right as both OpenAI and Anthropic are pursuing IPOs that will put their economics in front of public investors for the first time. OpenAI filed confidentially for an IPO earlier this week. In a recent message to employees, Altman said the company plans to go public within the next year. The competitive pressure driving the price discussion is real. Anthropic's revenue surged after its coding tool Claude Code caught fire among software engineers, and the startup briefly overtook OpenAI's valuation. OpenAI has since made its own coding tool, Codex, a company priority. But enterprise enthusiasm for AI has started running into budget ceilings. An Uber executive said earlier this year the company had exhausted its 2026 spending on agentic AI. Another executive said last month that it was hard to connect AI-driven coding gains to actual product improvements customers could see. Those admissions have sparked a broader debate in Silicon Valley about "tokenmaxxing," which is burning through tokens at high volume without a clear return on the spend. That backdrop is what makes a price war both logical and risky. The two companies have captured most of the revenue flowing into new AI products, but investors have long pointed to one structural vulnerability: customers can switch between them easily. A price war tests that weakness directly, and whoever blinks first sets the floor for an industry that has not yet figured out how to grow profitably.