Ramp: AI Spending Has Stalled as Anthropic Nears Its IPO
Company spending on AI grew just 1.5% across August and September even as usage volumes rose. The data challenges assumptions about rapid revenue growth at OpenAI and Anthropic.
Corporate spending on artificial intelligence flatlined in late summer even as usage kept rising, according to a new report from Ramp, a business spending management platform. The data suggests price competition and more cost-conscious customers may be capping revenue for AI developers OpenAI and Anthropic, just as Anthropic prepares for its initial public offering (IPO).
Growth slows sharply
Ramp's figures show spending on tokens, the units AI companies use to bill for processing text, grew only 1.5% across August and September combined. In July, growth from the previous month was 42%. October brought a rebound, with spending up 8.9% from September 23 to October 23, but Ramp's lead economist Ara Kharazian says headwinds remain strong.
He notes that almost all AI spending comes from venture-backed, high-growth tech companies. The top 1% of firms eased their spending slightly in August and September, landing just below the $10,000 per employee they reached at their summer peaks. Median firms spend $12–$15 per employee per month, while the top 10% spend $600–$1,000.
Price cuts and thrift
Kharazian says the cause is not weak demand but competition. In September, OpenAI cut API prices in half for GPT-6 Sol and GPT-6 Luna, and Anthropic responded with reductions for Fable 5.1 and Opus 5.5. In a recent filing, Anthropic said that decision reduced its revenue growth by about $600 million. Meta, Nvidia and other providers offer cheap or open-source models, and a new tool called Jev is increasingly popular for simple yes/no tasks. Companies are also getting better at controlling costs, for example by setting employee budgets.
Investor reaction
Bloomberg reported that Anthropic's potential valuation fell from an estimated $2 trillion in early October to $1.2–$1.3 trillion. OpenAI lowered its proposed valuation from $1.4 trillion to $1.25 trillion and cut its fundraising goal by about $10 billion. Kharazian is skeptical that personal AI agents will become the next major growth driver.
