{
  "id": 15077337,
  "title": "Open-weight models win hearts, minds, and wallets",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/open-weight-models-win-hearts-minds-and-wallets",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-16T23:07:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Register",
    "slug": "the-register",
    "url": "https://www.theregister.com/ai-and-ml/2026/10/17/open-weight-models-win-hearts-minds-and-wallets/5303704"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Open-weight AI models have surged in popularity, accounting for over 75% of token processing on Vercel's AI Gateway between June and September. Their share of spending has more than quadrupled from 5% in June to nearly 25% in September. AI Gateway, a service that connects customers to various AI providers, saw AI Gateway token volume from open-weight models surpass 70% for the first time in August. Despite a significant drop in average token price, usage costs remained low, with open-weight models processing 1% of tokens but 0.15% of spending in September. US-based models from Anthropic and OpenAI still dominate, with Claude Opus 5.5 and GPT-6 Astra leading at 11.03% and 4.86% respectively. However, Chinese AI providers have gained traction, with DeepSeek V4.1 Flash ranking third at 4.19%. The shift in popularity may prompt US businesses to reconsider reliance on Chinese models, especially as China considers adding AI-related items to its export control list.",
  "summary": "They handle 71.5% of Vercel gateway tokens and nearly a quarter of estimated spending",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Register Science",
        "title": "Open-weight models win hearts, minds, and wallets",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/open-weight-models-win-hearts-minds-and-wallets-15081839",
        "published": "2026-10-16T23:07:04.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}