AI Industry Sees Impressive Productivity with Copilot Leading the Way

A study by TRG Datacenters reveals that Copilot leads the AI sector with $4.26M revenue per employee, followed by OpenAI at $2.87M. Other notable companies include DeepSeek ($1.25M), Tempus AI ($289K), and Mistral AI ($85.7K). The AI industry is projected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2030, driven by increasing productivity and smaller, more efficient teams.

The artificial intelligence sector is experiencing significant growth, with companies achieving remarkable revenue per employee. A new study by data infrastructure provider TRG Datacenters has examined financial data from leading AI companies, revealing the top performers in terms of operational efficiency and business model effectiveness. The research highlights how some of the most productive AI companies are able to generate massive revenue with relatively small teams.

Copilot tops the chart with $4.26M revenue per employee

Copilot emerges as the clear leader in AI company productivity. With just 94 employees, the company generates a staggering $400 million in annual revenue. This translates to a remarkable $4.26 million per employee, setting a high benchmark for operational efficiency in the sector. Copilot's success is attributed to its lean team and highly effective business model, which serves 20 million monthly active users. The company’s ability to generate such substantial revenue with a compact workforce positions it as a model of efficiency within the industry.

OpenAI: High productivity with a large team

OpenAI, known for its popular ChatGPT platform, ranks second on the list. With a significantly larger team of 3,000 employees, the company still achieves impressive productivity, generating $8.6 billion in annual revenue. This brings the revenue per employee to approximately $2.87 million, nearly three times the industry average for large tech firms. OpenAI’s success is further reflected in its user base, with ChatGPT now boasting 800 million active users. Each employee is effectively serving over 265,000 users worldwide, showcasing the massive scale and reach of its products.

DeepSeek and Tempus AI: Lean operations in niche markets

DeepSeek ranks third with an exceptionally lean team of 160 employees. The company generates $200 million in revenue, which equates to $1.25 million per employee. While DeepSeek keeps its financial details private, it is known to have around 10 million users. Its ability to maintain high productivity with a small workforce places it among the top performers in the AI sector.

Tempus AI, a healthcare-focused AI company, comes in fourth. With a larger team of 2,400 employees, Tempus produces $693 million in revenue, bringing the revenue per employee to $289,000. While lower than the frontier-model companies, Tempus's efficiency is notable, especially given the regulatory complexities of the healthcare industry. The company is valued at $16 billion, underlining its success in integrating AI into the healthcare sector.

Other notable AI companies

xAI, backed by significant funding of $10 billion, ranks fifth with 900 employees. The company produces $178 million in revenue, equating to about $198,000 per employee. xAI has 64 million active users, with each employee serving roughly 71,000 people.

Mistral AI, a European competitor, ranks sixth. The company, with 350 employees, generates $30 million in annual revenue, or $85,700 per employee. Despite its smaller revenue, Mistral has raised nearly $2 billion in funding and has the resources to scale its operations. With a user base of 1 million, Mistral’s financial efficiency highlights its potential to compete on the global stage.

Google's DeepMind and other industry players

Google’s DeepMind division ranks seventh with 6,000 employees. The company generates $506 million in revenue, translating to $84,300 per employee. Despite its large workforce, DeepMind's revenue per employee is relatively low compared to smaller, leaner AI companies. The division currently serves 350 million users.

Anthropic, a safety-focused AI company, comes in eighth with 1,300 employees. It generates $87 million in revenue, or about $66,900 per employee. While its productivity is lower than that of frontier-model companies, Anthropic’s emphasis on safety research and enterprise sales contributes to its business model. The company operates with a valuation of $60 billion and has raised $13.7 billion in funding.

Perplexity AI ranks last among the top AI companies, with 1,600 employees and $80 million in annual revenue. This results in a revenue per employee of $49,100, the lowest in the study. While Perplexity is still scaling its operations, its efficiency remains lower compared to its competitors.

The future of AI industry growth

The AI industry is poised for continued growth, with projections suggesting it will reach $1.8 trillion by 2030. 

According to TRG Datacenters, the sector’s high productivity levels are a testament to the increasing capabilities of AI technology. “AI is already writing 50-60% of code at companies like GitHub and Google, meaning smaller teams can build bigger products,” said a spokesperson from TRG Datacenters. “These companies make more revenue per person because the technology itself is doing work that used to require hiring. The efficiency keeps climbing as the tools get better, and top AI companies can scale to billions in revenue without increasing their headcount the same way.”