Ramp data shows company AI spending flatlining just as Anthropic nears its IPO

Companies are using more AI than ever, but they are not spending more on it, TechCrunch reports. New data from the fintech Ramp shows AI token spend grew only 1.5% across August and September, after jumping 42% month on month in July, even as token volumes kept rising: a sign that price competition and savvier customers may be capping revenue for OpenAI and Anthropic. "Almost the entire spend on AI is from venture-backed, high-growth tech companies," Ramp's lead economist Ara Kharazian said. If that slows, "they will all start to slow down simultaneously, and that could lead to other cascading effects." He already sees the top 1% of firms, the most "AI-pilled," stuttering slightly, coming in just below the $10,000 per employee they hit at their summer peaks. For investors pricing Anthropic's listing, the numbers are a reminder that breakneck growth is not guaranteed.