Contributed by Business Insider
Featuring Alex Sobol, Co-Founder at The Millennium Alliance
Making every token count
Now, rising AI spending is prompting companies to shift their focus from expanding usage to maximizing their investment.
A new study from Menlo Ventures found that enterprise AI deployment spending reached $177 billion by September, up from $33 billion in all of 2025. Meanwhile, only 13% of about 2,000 tech executives polled by Gartner from May through July said their organizations had gained significant value from AI.
Companies’ AI bills may be ballooning in part because workers have little incentive to curb their use, said Alex Sobol, cofounder of the Millennium Alliance, an invite-only community for C-suite executives. Without limits, “they’re going to use it in every possible way they can,” he said.
Broad AI access can also create security risks if used improperly — another reason companies might be getting more judicious. A 2025 KPMG survey of more than 1,000 US workers found that 44% were using AI at work without authorization or in inappropriate ways, while 46% had uploaded sensitive company information or intellectual property to public AI platforms.
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