Nansen CEO: Low-cost models erode the moat of frontier AI, Anthropic and OpenAI's business models face disruption

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

Alex Svanevik further questioned whether the business model of relying on high-end models for profit remains viable when regulations begin to restrict the capabilities or deployment of frontier models. This will become a core issue that the industry needs to reassess.