Token Series Part 1 | How AI Created a New Budget

<p>This is Part 1 of our new Token Series with Tabs. CJ calls up Ali Hussain to dig into one of the fastest-growing, least-understood line items on the P&amp;L: AI inference and token spend. They debate whether AI costs ultimately belong to the CTO or the CFO, why the shift from &quot;experimentation budgets&quot; to real operating costs is forcing companies to rethink ownership, what&#39;s actually different about AI spend compared to the early cloud transition, and how tools like OpenRouter (acquired by Stripe) and Ramp&#39;s new offering are approaching the problem from opposite ends of engineering vs. finance.</p><p><br></p><p>—</p><p><br>Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at <a href="https://www.tabs.com/run"><u>https://www.tabs.com</u></a></p><p><br></p><p>—</p><p><br></p><p>LINKS: </p><p>Mostly Talent: <a href="https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsN">⁠<u>https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsN</u>⁠</a></p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-mcelhatton-2140761/">⁠</a><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ali-hussain786/">linkedin.com/in/ali-hussain786</a></p><p>Company: <a href="http://www.zuora.com">⁠<u>www.tabs.com</u></a></p><p>CJ: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/">⁠<u>https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/</u>⁠</a></p><p>Mostly metrics: <a href="https://www.mostlymetrics.com">⁠<u>https://www.mostlymetrics.com</u>⁠</a></p><p><br></p><p>—</p><p><br></p><p>TIMESTAMPS:</p><p>0:00 Cold Open</p><p>1:11 From Experimentation Budgets to Real AI Costs</p><p>2:43 Who Owns AI Spend Inside a Company?</p><p>4:12 Lessons from the Cloud Transition</p><p>5:55 Why AI Costs Are Different from Cloud</p><p>7:51 AI as &quot;Electricity Through the House&quot;</p><p>8:42 Paying for 5 to 10 LLM Providers</p><p>9:58 OpenRouter vs. Ramp: Two Approaches</p><p>11:47 What the Finance Stack for AI Spend Should Look Like</p><p>13:34 Passing AI Costs on to Customers</p>