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AI is getting expensive<\/a>, and some companies are cutting back<\/a> on usage in an attempt to moderate costs. That cohort includes Uber, which recently instituted internal usage caps as a way to cut down on its exorbitant AI spend.<\/p>\n Bloomberg reports<\/a> that the company has instituted a new rule that places a monthly $1,500 cap per employee and per agentic coding tool, including Anthropic\u2019s Claude Code or Cursor. The usage is trackable via an internal dashboard that each employee has access to, although \u2014 in certain cases \u2014 the caps can be exceeded with permission, the company says.<\/p>\n The news is perhaps not too surprising, since, in April, the company\u2019s CTO revealed that<\/a> the ridesharing giant had blown through its entire annual AI budget in a matter of four months. That appears to have occurred after Uber encouraged staff to use AI \u201cas much as possible\u201d and even ranked their internal usage competitively on internal leader boards, The Information previously reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Uber\u2019s COO, Andrew Macdonald, also recently cast doubt<\/a> on AI\u2019s productivity impact, noting during a podcast appearance that \u201cit\u2019s very hard to draw a line\u201d between AI usage and new consumer features.<\/p>\n Uber\u2019s cutback raises a broader issue that the tech industry is currently facing: As enterprises pour money into AI, where exactly is the return on investment? Indeed, AI ROI has so far remained a largely theoretical phenomenon<\/a> that everybody hopes will eventually materialize \u2014 although some companies are obviously getting a little restless while they wait.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n