OpenAI Python Package Downloads: Who Grew Since August
Since PyPI's counting change, the openai package grew 14%, exactly the median of 11 AI packages. anthropic grew 25%. In a market growing this fast, keeping pace is not traction.
The signal
- PyPIpypistats changed its counting on 25 Aug: from the week of 17 Aug to the week of 31 Aug, the 11 AI packages here stepped down by 33–89%.
- LaunchesThree flagships landed inside the latest window: Claude Sonnet 5.5 (28 Sep), GPT-6.1 Sol (29 Sep) and Gemini 4 Argon (30 Sep).
- PyPIanthropic went from 49 to 54 downloads per 100 of openai; mcp is at 80.
Between 31 Aug–6 Sep and 25 Sep–1 Oct, anthropic's PyPI downloads grew 25% and openai's 14%, the median of 11 AI packages.
PyPI downloads (without mirrors) in the 7 days 25 Sep – 1 Oct 2026, indexed to the first full week after the 25 Aug counting change (31 Aug – 6 Sep = 100).
<b>Break:</b> pypistats changed how it counts on 25 Aug 2026. Comparing the week of 17 Aug with the week of 31 Aug, these packages stepped down by 33–89%, so nothing here is compared across that date. Both windows are 7 days with one of each weekday, so weekend dips cancel. The smallest base is vllm at 0.53M a week. 25 days of clean data show direction, not a trend; launches in the last week (Claude Sonnet 5.5, GPT-6.1 Sol, Gemini 4 Argon) may have lifted it.
Show the data (11 rows)
| Package | 31 Aug–6 Sep | 25 Sep–1 Oct | Change | Step at the 25 Aug break |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ollama | 2.8M | 3.6M | +29% | −48% |
| anthropic | 31.1M | 39.0M | +25% | −39% |
| groq | 3.6M | 4.5M | +24% | −41% |
| mcp | 47.9M | 57.9M | +21% | −43% |
| transformers | 21.6M | 24.9M | +15% | −55% |
| openai | 63.3M | 72.3M | +14% | −41% |
| litellm | 19.2M | 21.6M | +13% | −89% |
| google-genai | 30.9M | 33.6M | +9% | −55% |
| langchain | 38.2M | 40.8M | +7% | −33% |
| vllm | 0.53M | 0.50M | -5% | −57% |
| mistralai | 4.0M | 3.5M | -10% | −49% |
The Mode read
On 25 August, PyPI's download statistics changed how they count, and every AI package here stepped down by 33–89% between the weeks of 17 and 31 August. Any chart that runs across that date now compares two different rulers. So we restarted the clock: which Python AI packages grew in the 25 days after the first clean week?
Almost all of them. The median package grew 14%, and that median is openai itself. anthropic grew 25%, moving from 49 to 54 downloads for every 100 of openai. ollama grew most, 29%, from a base of 2.8M a week. vllm (-5%) and mistralai (-10%) fell.
When the whole category grows 14% in 25 days, a package or product growing at that rate is only holding its place. Founders who report download or install growth should show it next to the category median, not next to zero. Of these 11, 5 beat it (ollama, anthropic, groq, mcp, transformers). Those are the ones taking share.
In a market that grew 14% in 25 days, 14% is standing still.
What we would back: Developer products that beat their category median month after month, not only in launch weeks.