Executives from NVIDIA and Uber Technologies Inc. have raised concerns that the cost of artificial intelligence tools and computing infrastructure is now, in some cases, higher than employee salaries, highlighting growing economic pressure from rapid AI adoption across industries.
The warning was reported on Friday by The Economic Times, citing senior executives and industry data.
Bryan Catanzaro, Vice-President of Applied Deep Learning at NVIDIA, said AI infrastructure spending has become a major cost driver for engineering teams.
“For my team, the cost of compute is far beyond the costs of the employees,” Mr Catanzaro said.
Uber says AI budget “blown away”
At Uber Technologies Inc., Chief Technology Officer Praveen Naga said the company underestimated how quickly AI expenses would scale.
“I’ve gone back to the drawing board because the budget I thought I would need is blown away already,” Mr Naga said.
He added that AI agents are already responsible for about 11% of Uber’s live code updates, signalling deeper integration of automation into core operations.
Startups hit by massive AI bills
Smaller firms are also feeling the pressure. Swan AI founder Amos Bar-Joseph revealed in a LinkedIn post that his four-person company received a $113,000 bill from Anthropic, the company behind Claude AI.
That translates to roughly $28,000 per employee in a single month, underscoring how quickly costs can escalate in AI-heavy workflows.
The rising costs have reignited debate over whether AI is truly more efficient than human labour.
A 2024 study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that human workers completed tasks more effectively in 77% of cases analysed, challenging assumptions about automation superiority.
Industry push continues despite costs
Despite cost concerns, companies continue to expand AI investments aggressively.
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has reportedly encouraged engineers to significantly increase AI usage, even suggesting high annual spending on AI “tokens” for advanced development work.
Businesses are now divided on whether current AI spending represents a temporary investment phase or a long-term structural cost.
While some firms are restructuring operations around AI agents, others warn that rushed adoption without clear returns could lead to significant financial losses.
Even so, analysts expect AI-driven automation to continue reshaping the workforce, with potential layoffs as companies test cost-saving efficiencies.
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