OpenAI growth rebounds following GPT-5 launch

And hello to my new readers. This is a fashion newsletter now.

Hello to 423 new readers who subscribed after my most recent post San Francisco tech workers are working Saturdays blew up on twitter,

TBPN

, and a kind feature by Emily Sundberg.

Most of you come from industries outside my typical tech / econ / business beat. Many of you are in fashion (I don’t have much to offer there, but maybe if this demographic grows, I’ll add an occasional fit pic to each post).

I’m glad you’re here. I write about economics and business trends using first-party data from Ramp (the business spend platform). This means you can’t get my analysis anywhere else. I’m quick to respond to new trends, and I like confirming what’s real and what’s not. Lately, I’ve been writing about the AI race because that’s where businesses have been spending a lot of money. I also write broadly about econ, tariffs, and software.

Here’s my monthly take on the AI race for businesses.

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This month’s update is big because it marks the first time we’re seeing data on business adoption of OpenAI’s latest model, GPT-5.

If you recall, the GPT-5 launch was so botched, Sam Altman apologized for it. And with increasing attention as to whether the pace of business AI investment is actually sustainable, the key metric we’ve been watching is whether businesses adoption would to continue to increase following a slowdown earlier in the summer.

The results are good for OpenAI.

Ramp AI Index shows business AI adoption rose to 44.5% in August 2025, up from 43.3%. OpenAI also led AI companies in growth, with a 1.5% increase in businesses subscribed to OpenAI models and tools. By sector, finance and manufacturing were the fastest-growing adopters of new AI spend, with adoption growing 3% and 2%, respectively. Adoption among technology firms remained flat at 72%.

We can likely assume OpenAI’s GPT-5 release drove a sharp rebound for the company’s tools, with adoption growth outpacing main rival Anthropic for the first time since May. Growth in manufacturing underscores how GPT-5’s improved reasoning and efficiency are expanding AI’s reach into industries that have historically been slower to adopt new technology.

Highlights

• The 1.2% August increase is slightly slower than a 2% increase in July but continues the positive trend in AI adoption following a brief slowdown in May and June.

• The U.S. government measure of business AI adoption, from the U.S. Census Business Trends and Outlook Survey, increased to 9% from 8.4%, turning positive but still below it’s all-time-high of 9.3% in May and June 2025.

• That said, I believe the government estimate, which relies on survey data, is underreporting actual AI adoption by U.S. businesses. I complained about why on twitter.

• Elon Musk’s xAI held flat despite doubling its base of businesses in July. It was also one of our fastest-growing vendors that month.

• Anthropic grew business AI adoption 1% in August, a slight slowdown from its 1.5% growth in July.

• OpenAI remains the leader in business AI adoption, at 35%, up 1.5% from July.

For more analysis of Ramp spend data, follow me on X and LinkedIn. All data is available for download from Ramp AI Index.

An offering from my camera roll

I visited family in Armenia this summer and ended up at the former headquarters of Armenfilm, the now defunct-Soviet-owned production company (the equivalent of a state-owned Armenian Paramount Pictures). Armenfilm collapsed with the Soviet Union, and its former campus has been converted into artist studios (my dj cousin works from one). He showed me around the abandoned parts, which have been looted over the years. It’s sad to walk through a building where smart, creative people once did great work.