Nansen CEO: Low-cost models erode the moat of frontier AI, Anthropic and OpenAI business models under pressure

Odaily reported that Nansen CEO Alex Svanevik stated that open-weights models may pose greater competitive pressure on Anthropic and OpenAI in the future, because not all tasks require a "150 IQ level" frontier model. In many scenarios, a model with around 115 IQ but costing about 90% less is "fully sufficient," offering a clear cost-performance advantage. Since the AI industry has generally believed that profits would come from the most advanced frontier models, this logic may now face challenges, especially if governments impose restrictions or block access to frontier models, potentially impacting the revenue expectations of related companies.

Alex Svanevik further questioned whether the business model of relying on high-end models for profitability remains viable when regulations begin to limit the capabilities or deployment of frontier models, calling it a core issue that the industry needs to reassess.