- Native AI Vendors Capture Fastest Growth and Dominate Enterprise Software Budgets
- OpenAI and Anthropic are the main beneficiaries of increased AI spending
- Traditional SaaS tools are losing relevance as AI adoption accelerates
Enterprise software spending is undergoing a structural shift as artificial intelligence moves beyond limited testing into core operating budgets, new research confirms.
Over the past year, decision-making has shifted away from whether AI tools are worth funding, towards which vendors should receive increasing allocations, reflecting a broader shift in procurement priorities, where AI is no longer treated as an add-on but as the core line item shaping software budgets.
Tropic’s analysis of more than $18 billion in managed spend found that overall software spending is increasing sharply, with midsize and enterprise organizations increasing spending by nearly 58% year over year.
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AI moves from optional spending to dominant budget line
Within that growth, native AI categories are expanding much faster than traditional software, indicating a clear reallocation of budgets rather than uniform expansion.
The redistribution of spending is concentrated among a small group of providers, with OpenAI and Anthropic being the main beneficiaries.
Anthropic saw growth of more than 428%, while tools like Cursor saw increases of more than 600%, reflecting rapid adoption among engineering teams.
At the same time, OpenAI continues to capture substantial spend despite slower contract growth, reflecting a shift in which a limited number of vendors are absorbing an increasing proportion of budgets, strengthening their role in daily workflows and infrastructure.
The numbers indicate that AI tools are no longer experimental purchases, as procurement teams receive 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 businesses, spending on primarily SaaS tools has already decreased by around 8%, while hybrid and native AI tools continue to expand.
This divergence suggests that organizations are reducing reliance on legacy systems that lack meaningful AI integration.
At the same time, vendors are introducing higher prices 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 reassessing existing software commitments.
The data shows a shift in which AI is not just another category within software spending, but the defining factor in allocation decisions.
While overall budgets are increasing, the concentration of spending among a few AI vendors and the relative decline of traditional SaaS indicate a transition that may alter the way enterprise software markets operate.
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