OpenAI is weighing drastic cuts to the prices it charges for tokens to win customers from Anthropic, in anticipation of similar cuts it expects Anthropic to make, according to The Wall Street Journal. Enterprises have started balking at high AI bills, and a price war would test both companies' models since their products are largely interchangeable and customers can switch easily, even as deep cuts could widen losses at two firms already burning billions on compute. The pressure comes amid a Silicon Valley debate over tokenmaxxing, or spending heavily on tokens for gains that may not pay off, and lands as both race toward IPOs, with OpenAI confidentially filing this week after Anthropic passed its valuation for the first time.
