'Not good enough. It's over': The AI doomers are going off on Anthropic's revenue figures

Gary Marcus and Ed Zitron appear side by side during separate stage presentations.

Gary Marcus and Ed Zitron are among the AI doomsayers who see Anthropic's revenue figures coming up short. Image 1: Henrique Casinhas/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images; Image 2: Carlos Rodrigues/Sportsfile for Web Summit via Getty Images

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Nearly $17 billion in quarterly revenue is good, right? Not if you're the most hotly anticipated IPO candidate in recent market history, apparently.

Anthropic, which is gearing up for what's expected to be a historic public offering, told investors this week that it made $16.8 billion last quarter. That's a significant jump from the prior three-month period, but slower than the growth rate from the first quarter to the second— and AI doomsayers dooming harder than ever.

Market researcher publication Geiger Capital shared a graphic of Anthopic's revenue run-rate on X, stating, "Not good enough. It's over."

Other prominent AI skeptics shared similar views. Gary Marcus, an AI researcher and author who has been an outspoken critic of the market's frenzy for AI, recalled a previous Anthropic revenue forecast, implying that it seems absurd now.

Anyone remember this? They ain’t gonna come close. https://t.co/qkPTJmmwJi

— Gary Marcus (@GaryMarcus) October 15, 2026

Marcus engaged with a user defending Anthropic, who argued that its slower Q3 growth was due to the "death of tokenmaxxing" and rising competition from Chinese open source models.

Tech founder and former US presidential candidate Andrew Yang, a fellow AI critic, highlighted the market implications of Anthropic's newly released figures, laying out what they might mean for other tech companies.

"Anthropic's quarterly revenue growth rate of ~45% is going to be seen as disappointing, and will put massive pressure on the AI hypergrowth story. If valuations start correcting, watch out below."

Citrini Research, the firm that went viral in February for publishing a hypothetical doomsday scenario that triggered a stock brief stock sell-off posted, "Oh it's over over" as Anthropic's revenue figures made the rounds.

Ed Zitron, an independent journalist and researcher who compared OpenAI to Lehman Brothers after auditing its financials, quickly chimed in after the figures were released.

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"The absolute best thing about this story is that boosters are furious Anthropic didn't give a new magical made up run rate number," he wrote.

Zitron has been a steadfast AI doomsayer, repeatedly predicting that the bubble will burst, with consequences that extend far beyond the stock market.

If you think @edzitron is annoying now, just wait until the bubble pops. This is the least annoying he is ever going to be.

— Ben Horne 🇺🇸 (@benjamin_horne) October 14, 2026

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Samuel O'Brient is an experienced financial markets and business journalist who has written extensively on a wide range of topics involving economics, technology and public policy. At Business Insider, he covers important macro and micro economic stories, including takes from leading economists and hedge fund managers, breaking IPOs,  corporate bankruptcies, meme stocks and short-selling. He also writes on other markets such as crypto, oil and real estate.He has interviewed many of the market’s most influential voices, ranging from top economists such as Mark Zandi and Richard Thaler to prominent investors including Danny Moses, Andrew Left, Anthony Scaramucci, Louis Navellier and Grant Cardone.Programs such as LiveNOW from Fox , Taking Stock and Ticker News have had Samuel on to discuss stock market and economic developments. His reporting has been cited by The New York Times DealBook, Bloomberg Radio, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Gizmodo and TheFutureParty.Samuel began at InvestorPlace, covering investing, retail trading and macro economic trends. Prior to joining Business Insider,  he served as a technology markets reporter at TheStreet. He is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Trinity College Dublin.Samuel's work has appeared in publications such as TipRanks, EV and Observer. When he isn't chasing down stories, he can often be found browsing book and record shops. To reach Samuel, email him at sobrient@insider.com or connect with him on LinkedIn. He is also on Signal as Samuel Clemens.