In scope: token pricing trends, inference gross margins, the AI-lab P&L question, and how memory, optics and foundry cost structure feed through to the price of a token.
| Type | Source | Published |
|---|---|---|
| ANALYSIS | Ways to Think About Token Pricing Benedict Evans · ben-evans.com (independent) Frames token pricing as unresolved between sellers' marginal cost and buyers' ROI; current 40-50% inference gross margin excludes training cost which exceeds revenue; mobile-data-network analogy for commodity-infrastructure risk. | 2026-07-09 |
| ANALYSIS | AI Inference Providers Compared: Q2 2026 Pricing Matrix (independent-provider observed pricing) Digital Applied Team · Digital Applied First independent-provider pricing in the KB: on ONE model (Llama 4 70B output), observed Q2-2026 LIST prices spread 6x — Together $0.65 (batch) to Cerebras $4.20 (wafer-scale); throughput spread 5-7x (Groq 750 tps, Cerebras 620 vs H100 ~115). Cheapest list ($0.65/M batch) sits at DigitalOcean's measured ~$0.45-0.64/M cost floor => thin-to-zero margin at batch tier. Opens the layer where marginal-cost pricing shows up first. | 2026-04-24 |