Palantir CEO Alex Karp bashes AI token model amid higher costs

Summary

CNBC’s Seema Mody reports on Palantir CEO Alex Karp’s criticism of the AI token payment model used by OpenAI and Anthropic, highlighting CEO frustration with rising costs and a potential shift toward Chinese solutions. The report sparks a debate: Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora says token costs must fall for enterprise adoption to rise, while Altimeter Capital’s Brad Gerstner points to continued revenue growth at major AI labs as proof of value. Token usage data this earnings season is expected to be a key indicator of AI demand trends, with any slowdown in token purchases potentially viewed as positive.

• Alex Karp warns CEOs are frustrated with sky‑rocketing AI token costs and are turning to China for solutions.
• Karp says OpenAI and Anthropic can exploit proprietary data to replicate customer businesses.
• Nikesh Arora argues token costs must come down for enterprise adoption to accelerate.
• Brad Gerstner pushes back on ROI concerns, citing rising revenue run rates at the big AI labs.
• Sree Ramakrishnan warns that companies risk being ‘eaten’ by the AI models they feed.
• Token usage data this earnings season will be seen as a major proof point for AI adoption.
• A visible slowdown in token purchases could be interpreted positively by the market.