Anthropic has launched a $200 (about 290,000 won) monthly membership for its artificial intelligence (AI) conversational service "Claude." This is 10 times more expensive than the existing paid membership. AI developers are introducing high-priced plans to cover the significant expenses related to model development and begin monetization.
On the 9th (local time), Anthropic announced the launch of the new membership "Max." Anthropic noted that it has increased usage limits compared to the Pro ($20 a month, 29,000 won) membership, allowing access to the latest AI models and granting priority access during peak traffic times.
In particular, Max is divided into $100 and $200 tiers, with differences in usage limits between the two sub-memberships. However, the specifics of those differences were not disclosed. This contrasts with the detailed differences provided by OpenAI’s ChatGPT Pro membership ($200 a month), which has no usage limits for GPT-4, unlimited access to advanced voice features, and higher limits for deep research.
The launch of the $200 membership by Anthropic has been analyzed as a means to cover development expenses. Notably, given that OpenAI has already achieved success with high-priced plans, it has confirmed there is demand for such offerings. According to The Information, OpenAI is expected to generate at least $300 million (about 438 billion won) in revenue solely from the $200 membership subscription fees this year. OpenAI launched the $200 membership in December last year, reportedly generating $25 million (about 36.5 billion won) in revenue from that membership alone within two months. The projected revenue of $300 million is calculated as annual recurring revenue (ARR).
In this way, not only OpenAI but also AI development corporations like Anthropic are exploring various revenue strategies. After observing the success of the $200 membership, OpenAI is said to be considering the launch of a membership of up to $20,000 (about 29.2 million won) that would allow for Ph.D.-level research. Scott White, Anthropic's chief product officer, responded during an interview with the overseas IT media TechCrunch about the possibility of launching a $500 (about 73,000 won) membership, saying, "We will provide various options."