AI Companies Face Revenue Drop as Enterprises Cut Millions in Token Spending

2 articles · Updated · Marcus on AI | Gary Marcus | Substack · May 28

Enterprise customers are pulling back on heavy AI usage after burning millions of dollars on tokens with little measurable return, threatening near-term revenue for major model providers.
Axios reported the shift as a move away from “tokenmaxxing” — the practice of maximizing generative AI use regardless of payoff — after companies tolerated unusually high token consumption for months.
Anthropic and OpenAI are among the firms exposed because that spending surge had inflated short-term sales, while tighter budgets now raise pressure on pricing and already difficult paths to profitability.
Agent-based AI could deepen the pullback because it consumes far more tokens than standard chatbot use, making enterprise cost controls more urgent and casting doubt on recent growth assumptions across the sector.

As OpenAI burns cash while Anthropic profits, which business model will define the future of enterprise AI?

With AI's ROI now in question, are blockbuster IPOs a final cash grab before a market correction?