Making Sense Of AI

Explore AI Insights Across The Five-Layer Stack

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Explore unbiased, data-driven AI insights across the five-layer stack: applications, models, infrastructure, chips, and energy.

Z.ai

Z.ai Token Usage Ranked

In April 2026, among AI Tigers, Z.ai models processed 5.38T tokens – fourth-most on OpenRouter. DeepSeek, MiniMax, and Alibaba processed more.

13 May, 2026

Ravinder Deol

Z.ai

Z.ai In Tokens

In April 2026, Z.ai models on OpenRouter processed 5.38 trillion tokens. Z.ai tokens processed increased 75.77% month-over-month.

12 May, 2026

Ravinder Deol

Z.ai

From $8M To $104M

Z.ai generated $103.6M (USD) in revenue in 2025 – up 12x since 2022. Research & Development spend hit $454.8M in 2025, or 439% of revenue.

11 May, 2026

Ravinder Deol

MiniMax

MiniMax Alibaba Cloud Spend

MiniMax spent $75.88M on Alibaba Cloud in 2025 – up 7x from 2024. Its cap under the Alibaba Cloud Services agreement rises to $135M in 2028.

8 May, 2026

Ravinder Deol

MiniMax

MiniMax 7-Day MA Ranked

In April 2026, among the AI Tigers, MiniMax models had a 170B seven-day moving average in tokens processed. It's decreased 26% month-over-month.

7 May, 2026

Ravinder Deol

MiniMax

MiniMax Token Usage Ranked

In April 2026, among the AI Tigers, MiniMax models processed 8.06T tokens – the second-most on OpenRouter. Only Alibaba models processed more.

6 May, 2026

Ravinder Deol

MiniMax

MiniMax In Tokens

In April 2026, MiniMax models on OpenRouter processed 8.06 trillion tokens. MiniMax tokens processed increased 24.39% month-over-month.

5 May, 2026

Ravinder Deol

MiniMax

From $3M To $79M

MiniMax generated $79.04M (USD) in revenue in 2025 – up 23x in two years. AI native products went from 22% of revenue in 2023 to 67% in 2025.

4 May, 2026

Ravinder Deol

OpenAI

Meet Compute

OpenAI's compute spend increased by $10.2B, or 176%, in 2025. Over the same period, annualized revenue increased by $15.9B, or 289%.

1 May, 2026

Ravinder Deol

OpenAI

OpenAI In Tokens

In March 2026, OpenAI models on OpenRouter processed 9.06 trillion tokens. OpenAI tokens processed increased 63.56% month-over-month.

30 Apr, 2026

Ravinder Deol

OpenAI

The Deep Research Effect

Since Deep Research launched, OpenAI's adoption rate on Ramp increased from 18.22% to 35.18%. In the 2 months after launch, it jumped 13.79 points.

29 Apr, 2026

Ravinder Deol

OpenAI

$852,000,000,000

In March 2026, OpenAI closed a $122B funding round at a $852B valuation. This round made it the most valuable private company in the world.

28 Apr, 2026

Ravinder Deol

OpenAI

$12 Billion In 6 Months

In February 2026, OpenAI reached $25B in annualized revenue. Between GPT-4 and GPT-5 (29 mo), it added $12.8B. Since GPT-5 (6 mo), it added $12B.

27 Apr, 2026

Ravinder Deol

Anthropic

When Revenue Met Compute

Anthropic's compute spend increased by $4.3B, or 172%, in 2025. Over the same period, annualized revenue increased by $8B, or 800%.

24 Apr, 2026

Ravinder Deol

Anthropic

Anthropic In Tokens

In March 2026, Anthropic models on OpenRouter processed 11.79 trillion tokens. Anthropic tokens processed increased 65.84% month-over-month.

23 Apr, 2026

Ravinder Deol

Anthropic

Anthropic's Tipping Point

Since Claude Code launched, Anthropic's adoption rate on Ramp increased from 4.42% to 30.63%. That's a 26.21 percentage point increase in 13 months.

22 Apr, 2026

Ravinder Deol

Anthropic

$380,000,000,000

In February 2026, Anthropic raised $30B in its Series G round at a $380B valuation. Only ByteDance, SpaceX, and OpenAI have a higher valuation.

21 Apr, 2026

Ravinder Deol

Anthropic

$30 Billion In 37 Months

Anthropic reached $30B in annualized revenue in 37 months – since Claude launched in March 2023. $27B, or 90%, was added since Claude 4 launched.

20 Apr, 2026

Ravinder Deol

American AI Token Usage

Premium AI Still Gets Used

American models in OpenRouter's top ten averaged $9.20 per million output tokens. Despite their premium, five of the most-used models were American.

17 Apr, 2026

Ravinder Deol

American AI Token Usage

The AI Token Usage Gap

America is home to the labs that started the AI arms race. Yet in March 2026, American models in OpenRouter's top ten processed only 40.19% of the tokens.

16 Apr, 2026

Ravinder Deol

American AI Token Usage

America's Concentrated AI Market

Anthropic – creator of Claude – led American AI labs in tokens processed in March 2026. The gap between the three labs is 32 percentage points.

15 Apr, 2026

Ravinder Deol

American AI Token Usage

America's Fastest-Growing Model

In March 2026, Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 4.6 grew token usage 352% on OpenRouter. Only one model grew faster – Step 3.5 Flash (Free) from China.

14 Apr, 2026

Ravinder Deol

American AI Token Usage

America's Most-Used AI Models

In March 2026, five American models in OpenRouter's top ten processed 16.62 trillion tokens. Chinese models in the top ten processed 49% more.

13 Apr, 2026

Ravinder Deol

Chinese AI Token Usage

Price Shapes AI Token Usage

Chinese models in OpenRouter's top ten averaged $1.34 per million output tokens. American models averaged $9.20 – nearly seven times more.

10 Apr, 2026

Ravinder Deol

Chinese AI Token Usage

Chinese Models Lead Token Usage

In March 2026, Chinese models in OpenRouter's top ten processed 59.81% of the tokens. American models trailed by nearly 20 percentage points.

9 Apr, 2026

Ravinder Deol

Chinese AI Token Usage

The Most Competitive AI Market

In March 2026, Xiaomi – the Apple of China – led Chinese AI labs in tokens processed. The gap between the five labs is just 14 percentage points.

8 Apr, 2026

Ravinder Deol

Chinese AI Token Usage

The Fastest-Growing AI Model

Step 3.5 Flash, a free model by StepFun in China, grew token usage 389% in March 2026. That made it the fastest-growing model on OpenRouter.

7 Apr, 2026

Ravinder Deol

Chinese AI Token Usage

China Leads The AI Token Race

In March 2026, five Chinese models in OpenRouter's top ten processed 24.73 trillion tokens. That is 49% more than the five American models combined.

6 Apr, 2026

Ravinder Deol

AI Capital Expenditure

Hyperscalers Outspend Apollo

Since ChatGPT launched in 2022, hyperscaler capital expenditure as a share of US GDP has more than doubled. At 1.46%, it eclipses the Apollo Program.

3 Apr, 2026

Ravinder Deol

AI Capital Expenditure

Hyperscalers Vs US Defense

Capital expenditure by Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle (hyperscalers) as a share of US defense spending has risen from 13% to 30%.

2 Apr, 2026

Ravinder Deol

AI Capital Expenditure

Hyperscalers Go All In On AI

Combined, hyperscalers spent 77.75% of operating cash flow on capital expenditure in Q4 2025. It is up 24 percentage points since GPT-4 launched.

1 Apr, 2026

Ravinder Deol

AI Capital Expenditure

The Price Hyperscalers Pay For AI

On average, hyperscalers spent 41% of their revenue on capital expenditure in Q4 2025. That is up 26 percentage points from 15% in Q1 2018.

31 Mar, 2026

Ravinder Deol

AI Capital Expenditure

Hyperscalers Bet Billions On AI

Hyperscalers spent $141B on capital expenditure in Q4 2025. Between GPT-4 and GPT-5, expenditure more than tripled from $38B to $118B per quarter.

30 Mar, 2026

Ravinder Deol

AI Research

Where America Researches AI

The top ten institutions for AI research in America include universities, agencies, and corporations. Not one Ivy League school makes the list.

27 Mar, 2026

Ravinder Deol

AI Research

China's AI Research Capital

Five of China's top ten institutions for AI research are in Beijing. The Chinese Academy of Sciences leads with 34,087 papers, nearly triple Tsinghua.

26 Mar, 2026

Ravinder Deol

AI Research

Institutions Leading AI Research

The Chinese Academy of Sciences has published more AI papers than the three US institutions in the top ten combined. It leads them 34,104 to 29,807.

25 Mar, 2026

Ravinder Deol

AI Research

China's AI Research Went Vertical

Since 2018, institutions in China have published more AI papers every year than those in the US. In 2025, they published nearly twice as many.

24 Mar, 2026

Ravinder Deol

AI Research

Where AI Research Happens

Institutions in China and the US have published 766,898 AI papers combined. That's more than the 568,947 published in the next eight countries.

23 Mar, 2026

Ravinder Deol