Companies Burn Millions on AI, Hire Coaches to Stop Their Own Madness
KEY POINTS
- â˘Manos Koukoumidis founded Oumi AI in 2024 to build niche AI models, raising $10 million to cut costs.
- â˘Sydney-based Adaptovate with 100 consultants helps companies from snack makers to 30,000-employee firms plan their AI strategies.
- â˘Larridin, backed by $17 million from top VCs, measures AI token spending effectiveness across varied industries.
In the thrilling world of AI corporate overspending, Washington's Oumi AI CEO Manos Koukoumidis throws shade on firms wielding frontier AI models like Anthropic and OpenAI as if they were Swiss Army knives for toothpick tasksâresulting in astronomical bills. Founded in 2024 with a modest $10 million seed round, Oumi lets folks 'vibe-code' niche AI models faster than you can say 'tokenmaxxing,' a fad where employees spent AI tokens like drunken pirates. Meanwhile, Sydney-based Adaptovate, boasting 100 consultants, coaches the cluelessâwhether a snack maker or a hefty 30,000-employee firmâon how to reshape their organizations for AI glory. Over in San Francisco, Larridin, funded with a juicy $17 million from VC heavyweights including Google Ventures, measures token-to-productivity ratios to justify the AI bottomless pit. Throw in Runwareâs quick inference infrastructure and Tensormeshâs GPU-saving cache magic (backed by Nvidiaâs VC pals), plus YC-bred Conifer's budget-conscious query splitter, and we get a full circus focused on telling giant firms to stop using rocket launchers on molehills, raise ROI horizons beyond the lunch break, and admit most AI spending is just glorified guessing. Oh, and donât be the canary in the coal mine â pretend itâs working!
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(1 of 3)Spending millions on AI like a toddler with a credit card, companies now pay 'coaches' to stop their own token-fueled madness. Spoiler: itâs mostly just expensive guesswork.
Companies realizing their AI spending is basically buying Broadway seats just to watch a bunch of squirrels perform.
Turns out throwing frontier AI at every company task is like using a firehose to water a single pot plant.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 8/3/2026 | Author: Aditi Bharade,Henry Chandonnet
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