AI-native companies are smaller and make more per employee

Revenue per employee on a log scale. Circle size shows headcount.

Revenue per employee by group, with circles sized by headcount Median revenue per employee: 23 SaaS companies at IPO about $185,000 with about 1,200 people; 27 incumbents about $633,000 with about 38,000 people; 17 AI-native companies about $1.4 million with about 350 people. 12 of the 17 AI-native companies make more per employee than the best SaaS company at IPO, Dropbox at $596,000.

AI native: reported annualized revenue, 2024–26. Incumbents: latest annual filings. SaaS: IPO prospectuses, 2004–2025. Anthropic doesn't disclose headcount; plotted at the high estimate of 5,000 employees.