New Five-Level Scale Ranks AI Labs by Commercial Ambitions as Industry Faces Internal Turmoil
Summary
A new five-level scale ranks AI labs by commercial ambitions, placing OpenAI and Anthropic at the most profitable Level 5, while Thinking Machines Lab experiences executive exodus amid internal disputes over company direction and newer startups like Humans& and World Labs occupy middle tiers with varying market clarity.
Key Points
- A new five-level scale measures AI labs' commercial ambitions from Level 1 (research-focused) to Level 5 (already profitable), with established companies like OpenAI and Anthropic at the top level
- Recent AI startups show varying commercial clarity: Humans& sits at Level 3 with vague workplace software plans, while World Labs appears to be Level 4 with actual shipped products and clear market demand
- Thinking Machines Lab faces internal turmoil with nearly half its founding executives departing over company direction concerns, while Safe Superintelligence remains at Level 1 as a purely research-focused venture despite raising $3 billion