What happens when LLM providers stop subsidising?
Summary
A developer shares their experience with AI inference costs after switching from subsidized OpenAI Codex to OpenRouter, prompting a discussion about the sustainability of current LLM pricing models and the potential shift towards open-source self-hosting.
Similar Articles
Without open llm competition, closed source LLM companies will become insatiable.
The article argues that without open-source LLM competition, closed-source companies like Anthropic will become arrogant and overcharge customers, as exemplified by a $200/month subscription.
Have we reached the point where open-source LLMs are “just good enough”?
A discussion on whether open-source LLMs are now 'just good enough' for most use cases, questioning the added value of proprietary models and the cost-benefit tradeoffs.
What happens to local LLM if/when LLMs are no longer released for free?
The article explores the possibility that free open-source LLM releases may cease, questioning whether existing models could remain useful through advanced retrieval tooling despite stale knowledge.
Founders building with LLMs- would you pay someone to set up your AI cost tracking and provider routing infrastructure? Validating an idea.
A founder seeks validation for a service that configures production-grade LLM gateways to address common enterprise issues like cost visibility, provider lock-in, and PII leakage using open-source tools.
The Unsustainable Subsidy (1 minute read)
An analysis of how Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic are adjusting their AI model pricing strategies as cash constraints and high capex spending drive price increases, ending the era of subsidized AI.