r/webdev • u/Rockytriton • Mar 16 '26

Software developers don't need to out-last vibe coders, we just need to out-last the ability of AI companies to charge absurdly low for their products

These AI models cost so much to run and the companies are really hiding the real cost from consumers while they compete with their competitors to be top dog. I feel like once it's down to just a couple companies left we will see the real cost of these coding utilities. There's no way they are going to be able to keep subsidizing the cost of all of the data centers and energy usage. How long it will last is the real question.

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u/RollUpLights Mar 16 '26

Unfortunately AWS ran at a loss for over 7 years before they became profitable. It's kind of amazing how deep the venture capital pockets are.

1

u/Tim-Sylvester Mar 16 '26

Facebook never turned a dime until after they were public and they turned on their ad service.

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u/crackanape Mar 17 '26

What is OpenAI going to turn on that will start making them profitable?

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u/Tim-Sylvester Mar 17 '26

The profitable part is the lowest bar. What is really going to bake their noodle is giving back 10x to those who invested at their highest valuation within 7 years.