Key facts
- OpenAI's top token spender consumes 100 billion tokens monthly.
- An external entity spends more than 100 billion tokens monthly.
- Token spending has increased significantly from 100,000 tokens monthly six years ago.
- Some OpenAI employees have reportedly spent over 100 billion tokens in a month.
- Companies like Amazon have discontinued token leaderboards, and Uber has implemented caps.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, stated that the company's top token spender consumes 100 billion tokens per month. He also revealed that an external entity spends more than this amount, a situation he described as a personal "embarrassment." Altman acknowledged that token budgeting has become a "huge issue" for companies. He noted that six and a half years ago, OpenAI's top token spender used 100,000 tokens monthly, which was likely the world leader at the time. Today, that figure represents the per capita average, while the top internal spender uses 100 billion tokens monthly. OpenAI reportedly fosters a culture of high token spending, with internal leaderboards and employees sharing their usage on X. Some OpenAI employees have reportedly spent significantly more than 100 billion tokens in a month, with one instance of 603 billion tokens in 30 days and another of 210 billion tokens in a week. In contrast, other companies like Amazon have discontinued token leaderboards, and Uber has implemented token caps due to increasing costs. Altman mentioned that the cost of AI is a recent and significant concern, whereas at the beginning of 2026, it was not a prominent issue. OpenAI is continuing to develop its models and explore methods to provide "more value for less spend."