The spread of mass-market AI models and companies’ efforts to cut costs could become an obstacle for OpenAI and Anthropic as they pursue IPOs at high valuations. Both are valued at more than $800 billion, but cost efficiency is becoming as important as performance in the enterprise AI market. Companies including Meta, Shopify, Spotify and Pinterest say higher AI and inference costs are squeezing margins.

OpenAI pushed back against growing pessimism about artificial intelligence, with its global policy vice president Chris Lehane saying debate is swinging between exaggerated optimism and extreme pessimism. He said the industry needs to better explain how AI can help individuals, families and society. His comments come as a Pew Research survey found only 17 percent expect AI to have a positive impact on the United States over the next 20 years. OpenAI also outlined proposals to spread AI’s economic gains, while noting risks are already emerging.