Uber, which is reported to have used up its AI budget in 4 months, has raised questions about whether its AI investment is producing tangible results.
Uber President and Chief Operating Officer Andrew Macdonald (앤드루 맥도널드) said in a recent interview with The Verge that he cannot find a link between rising Claude Code token consumption and the release of more consumer-useful features.
"There may be more things getting shipped, but it is very hard to prove there is a direct relationship between token-consumption metrics and 'we are actually building 25 percent more useful consumer features,'" he said.
"It may become clearer over the next few quarters or years, but it is difficult right now," he added.
Uber spent $3.4 billion on research and development in 2025, up 9 percent from a year earlier. Earlier this month, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the increase in AI investment is being funded by hiring fewer people.
Macdonald said it is time to weigh token consumption and its costs against headcount. He said it is difficult to justify if Uber cannot directly prove how many more useful features it is delivering to users.
Chi-gyu Hwang
delight@d-today.co.kr