US — TechCrunch
Apple is reportedly cutting budgets for its internal AI usage
AI1 min read
Apple is reportedly cutting how much money its engineering teams can spend each day on AI tools. The company is also weighing tighter limits for other staff.
Apple is cutting AI spending limits
Bloomberg reported that Apple is lowering the daily amount its engineering teams can spend on AI. Apple already made one cut in October. More cuts are reportedly coming, and Apple may limit spending for staff outside engineering too.
The key numbers
- In October, the daily AI spending cap for engineering teams dropped from $300 to $200.
- Some allowances may fall to $100 a day.
- Outside engineering, Apple is reportedly considering a limit as low as $25 a day.
- TechCrunch has asked Apple for comment.
What is tokenmaxxing?
Earlier this year, many companies pushed workers to use AI as much as they could. People called this tokenmaxxing. AI tools charge by the amount of text they process, called tokens. When the bills arrived, many companies decided to ration tokens instead of letting use grow without limits.
Why this matters
Apple is a huge company, and it has worked hard to build AI into how its engineers work. Cutting budgets shows that even big tech firms are worried about AI costs. People still ask whether the cost of building and running AI is worth the productivity gains, which are often hard to measure.
What to watch
- Whether Apple confirms the reported cuts.
- How low the daily limits go for engineering and other teams.
- Whether other big companies also limit AI spending.
Glossary
- Bloomberg
- A news company that reports on business, finance, and technology.
- TechCrunch
- A tech news website that covers startups, apps, and new technology.
- tokenmaxxing
- A term for pushing workers to use as much AI as possible, often without clear goals.
- tokens
- Small pieces of text that AI tools count when they read and write, and that companies pay for.
- spending cap
- A maximum amount of money that someone is allowed to spend in a set time, such as one day.
- productivity gains
- Getting more useful work done in the same amount of time.