'AI is becoming THE line item': OpenAI and Anthropic are big winners in the doubling of AI spend as legacy SaaS face an existential crisis

Date:
Wed, 25 Mar 2026 23:20:00 +0000

Description:
Enterprise AI spend is booming, with OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cursor dominating budgets while legacy SaaS loses relevance and influence.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Pro Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news
and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter AI-native vendors capture the fastest growth, dominating enterprise software budgets OpenAI and Anthropic are the top beneficiaries of rising AI spend Traditional SaaS tools are losing relevance as AI adoption accelerates Enterprise
software spending is undergoing a structural shift as artificial intelligence moves beyond limited trials into core operational budgets, new research has confirmed.

Over the past year, decision-making has moved away from whether AI tools are worth funding toward which vendors should receive increasing allocations, reflecting a broader change in procurement priorities, where AI is no longer treated as an add-on but as the central line item shaping software budgets. Tropic s analysis of more than $18 billion in managed spend found overall software expenditure is rising sharply, with mid-market and enterprise organizations increasing spend by nearly 58% year-over-year. Article
continues below You may like 'The prize is enormous. The dynamics are shifting.': OpenAI models are the top favorites for enterprise users right
now - but Anthropic isn't far behind IT spending set to hit $1.4 trillion in 2026 - but what exactly are we spending it on? Growth, not efficiency, is the new AI goal AI shifts from optional spend to dominant budget line Within that growth, AI-native categories are expanding much faster than traditional software, indicating a clear reallocation of budgets rather than uniform expansion.

The redistribution of spend is concentrated among a small group of vendors, with OpenAI and Anthropic emerging as major beneficiaries.

Anthropic recorded growth of more than 428%, while tools such as Cursor saw increases exceeding 600%, reflecting rapid adoption across engineering teams.

At the same time, OpenAI continues to capture substantial spend despite
slower contract growth, reflecting a shift where a limited number of vendors are absorbing a growing share of budgets, reinforcing their role in daily workflows and infrastructure. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

The figures indicate that AI tools are no longer experimental purchases, as procurement teams are receiving repeated requests for the same platforms across departments.

As AI spending increases, traditional SaaS providers are seeing slower growth and, in some cases, a declining share of overall budgets, as for smaller companies, spending on primarily SaaS tools has already declined by around
8%, while AI-native and hybrid tools continue to expand.

This divergence suggests organizations are reducing reliance on legacy
systems that lack meaningful AI integration. What to read next 'AI is making us able to develop software at the speed of light': Mistral CEO claims more than 50% of enterprise software could soon switch to AI 'My own opinion is that much of the fear is overblown': AWS CEO thinks investors may be worrying about AI risks too much AI workloads are increasing wasted cloud spend for
the first time in 5 years but AI governance teams might be a solution

At the same time, vendors are introducing higher pricing tied to AI capabilities, with increases ranging from 20% to 37%, well above historical norms, creating additional pressure on budgets, as companies must justify higher costs while also reassessing existing software commitments.

The data shows a shift where AI is not just another category within software spending but the defining factor shaping allocation decisions.

While overall budgets are increasing, the concentration of spend among a few AI vendors and the relative decline of traditional SaaS indicate a transition that may alter how enterprise software markets operate. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/ai-is-becoming-the-line-item-openai-and -anthropic-are-big-winners-in-the-doubling-of-ai-spend-as-legacy-saas-face-an- existential-crisis


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