这篇报导将 OpenAI 描述为在 AI coding 竞赛中追赶 Anthropic，而不是领跑者。到 2026 年 1 月，Claude Code 已占 Anthropic 业务将近五分之一，折合年化营收超过 25 亿美元；相比之下，Codex 在 2026 年 1 月底的年化营收仅略高于 10 亿美元。Sam Altman 将 coding 称为罕见的数兆美元市场，并认为 Codex 可能是通往 AGI 的最可能路径，但这篇文章的核心统计对比是 OpenAI 在商业化 timing 上落后，以及其主要竞争对手已建立明显的收入优势。
时间线显示这种落后是如何形成的。OpenAI 在 2021 年展示 Codex，GitHub Copilot 于 2022 年 6 月公开推出，数月内吸引数十万使用者；但 ChatGPT 在 2022 年 11 月推出后，两个月内获得超过 1 亿使用者，并使内部重心转离专门的 coding 产品。与此同时，Anthropic 在 2024 年初训练 Claude Sonnet 3.5，于 2024 年 6 月推出，并在 2025 年 2 月与 5 月先后将 Claude Code 带入研究预览与正式发布。OpenAI 直到 2025 年 3 月才组建 sprint team，还曾试图以 30 亿美元收购 Windsurf，但该交易在 2025 年 7 月破局。
之后的数据显示 OpenAI 正在缩小差距，但尚未反超。知情人士表示，2025 年 9 月 Codex 的使用量只有 Claude Code 的 5%，到 2026 年 1 月已升至接近 40%。两家公司都以每月 200 美元的方案积极补贴使用量，有些开发者获得超过 1,000 美元的实际用量，以换取之后在 workplace 的按量收费。文章也用更大的数字说明外溢效应：Claude Code 被认为促成了 1 兆美元的科技股抛售，Greg Brockman 去年还各捐出 2,500 万美元给两个政治团体。整体趋势是 coding agents 的能力、企业采用与社会焦虑都在同步加速。
The article portrays OpenAI as chasing Anthropic in AI coding rather than leading it. By January 2026, Claude Code accounted for nearly one-fifth of Anthropic’s business and more than $2.5 billion in annualized revenue; by contrast, Codex was bringing in just over $1 billion in annualized revenue at the end of January 2026. Sam Altman calls coding a rare multitrillion-dollar market and argues that Codex may be the most likely path to AGI, but the central numerical comparison is that OpenAI entered the commercialization phase late while its main rival built a clear revenue lead.
The timeline shows how that gap emerged. OpenAI demoed Codex in 2021, and GitHub Copilot launched publicly in June 2022, attracting hundreds of thousands of users within months; but after ChatGPT launched in November 2022 and gained more than 100 million users in two months, internal focus moved away from a dedicated coding product. Meanwhile, Anthropic trained Claude Sonnet 3.5 in early 2024, launched it in June 2024, and then brought Claude Code to a research preview in February 2025 and general release in May. OpenAI did not form a sprint team until March 2025, and it also tried to buy Windsurf for $3 billion before that deal collapsed in July 2025.
The later numbers show OpenAI narrowing the gap, but not overtaking it. Sources said Codex was getting only 5 percent as much use as Claude Code in September 2025, then rose to closer to 40 percent by January 2026. Both firms heavily subsidized adoption through $200-per-month plans that in some cases delivered more than $1,000 of usage, aiming to convert developers into workplace, usage-based customers later. The article also uses larger figures to show spillover effects: Claude Code was credited with helping trigger a $1 trillion tech stock sell-off, and Greg Brockman donated $25 million each to two political groups last year. The broad trend is simultaneous acceleration in coding-agent capability, enterprise uptake, and social anxiety.