US companies cut AI costs by turning to Chinese models – WSJ

US companies are rethinking their artificial intelligence spending, moving away from unlimited investment in favor of a more cost-conscious approach that increasingly includes Chinese AI models, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports.

Major corporations that had previously encouraged employees to make extensive use of AI tools have seen a sharp rise in spending on so-called tokens — the units used to measure AI computing activity.

According to the report, some companies exhausted their annual AI budgets as early as March, while AI-related bills at others doubled or even tripled. In response, businesses have begun restricting access to the most expensive models and seeking lower-cost alternatives.

The cost-cutting strategy has already been adopted by companies including Uber, Meta, Microsoft and Tesla. Uber introduced limits on AI tool usage after its budget was depleted within four months.

Meta has urged employees not to use AI tools unnecessarily, while Tesla has imposed a weekly spending cap of $200 per employee for third-party AI products.

One of the most notable trends is growing interest among large businesses in more affordable Chinese AI models, which are increasingly viewed as viable alternatives to the more expensive offerings from OpenAI and Anthropic.

According to UBS estimates, training costs for leading Chinese AI models may amount to just one-tenth of those incurred by their US counterparts.

Representatives of startup Cursor, whose software supports multiple AI models, said many routine tasks do not require the most powerful and costly systems. The shift toward optimizing AI spending could reshape the industry's competitive landscape as increasingly capable and affordable Chinese models gain traction among businesses seeking to reduce costs.

By Jeyhun Aghazada