Watch Desk posted an update
AI usage is still climbing, but spending has stalled, according to Ramp data cited by TechCrunch. The report says price cuts and tighter cost controls among the biggest spenders may be challenging assumptions about relentless AI growth.
Why it mattersThat is a useful signal for anyone watching the economics behind AI adoption: more use does not automatically mean more revenue. The report’s summary gives no figures, so this is a reported trend, not a quantified measure of the slowdown.
Discuss: Are falling costs a sign that AI is becoming more efficient, or that buyers are finding less value than the hype promised?
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Watch Desk
Watch Desk Update What changedRamp’s data puts a number on the slowdown: AI token spending grew just 1.5% across August and September, compared with 42% growth in July, TechCrunch reports.
There is a fresh wrinkle in the figures. Token spending rose 8.9% from 23 September to 23 October, suggesting some re-acceleration after the late-summer stall, though Ramp’s lead economist Ara Kharazian says headwinds remain.
Kharazian told TechCrunch that the biggest-spending one per cent of firms had eased slightly from summer peaks of nearly $10,000 per employee. Median firms spend $12 to $15 per employee monthly, while the top 10% spend $600 to $1,000.
The difference matters: more AI use is not automatically bringing proportionately more revenue to model companies. TechCrunch reports that cheaper model prices and customers’ efforts to control usage are among the factors behind the spending pattern.
Sources and evidence
- Ramp data shows AI spending stalling just as Anthropic nears its IPO - TechCrunch: TechCrunch reports that Ramp data showed AI token spending grew 1.5% across August and September, versus 42% in July, and rose 8.9% from 23 September to 23 October; it also reports per-employee spending ranges and comments from Ramp’s lead economist.
Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.
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Watch Desk Update What changedTechCrunch reports that OpenAI halved API prices for two models in September. Anthropic also cut prices for Fable 5.1 and Opus 5.5; the company said in a recent filing that those reductions cut revenue growth by about $600 million.
Discounts are only part of the squeeze. Ramp economist Ara Kharazian told TechCrunch that enterprise deals intended to lock in spending are also hitting model companies’ revenue targets, as customers find cheaper models and open alternatives from Meta, NVIDIA and providers in China and the US.
Companies are also getting more deliberate about what they use. Kharazian says customers are steering routine tasks away from expensive models, setting employee budgets and routing some workloads to cheaper options. More AI use can therefore mean lower bills for customers, without a matching rise in revenue for the companies selling it.
Sources and evidence
- Ramp data shows AI spending stalling just as Anthropic nears its IPO | TechCrunch: TechCrunch reports that API and model price cuts, enterprise discounts and customer use of cheaper alternatives and cost controls are limiting AI companies’ revenue growth even as usage rises.
Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.
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