Ramp data shows AI spending stalling just as Anthropic nears its IPO
AI usage keeps climbing, but spending has stalled. Price cuts and smarter cost controls among the biggest spenders could challenge investor assumptions about AI hypergrowth.
A new report from Ramp reveals that spending on AI is flat even as token volumes are rising. According to Ramp’s data, token spend only grew 1.5% across August and September, down from a 42% increase in July. Lead economist Ara Kharazian notes that most AI spend comes from venture-backed, high-growth tech companies, and a slowdown in their spending could have cascading effects on the entire sector.
While there is still demand for AI coding agents in industries like software and finance, Kharazian suggests that these industries may not need to spend as much on AI as larger tech firms. The slowdown in spending isn't due to a lack of demand, but rather the competitive nature of the marketplace, with OpenAI and Anthropic lowering prices to compete.
Both companies have also offered enterprise discounts, but these discounts are aimed at locking in customers rather than driving revenue growth. Kharazian predicts that the top 1% of firms, who were hitting $10,000 per employee per month in summer, are now just below that mark. This slowdown in spending among top firms could slow down revenue growth for the entire industry, despite rising volumes.
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