Originally published on AIdeazz — cross-posted here with canonical link.
$47,000. That's what it will cost me to migrate away from a single vendor decision I made 18 months ago. The contract runs another 14 months. The API deprecation notice arrived last Tuesday.
When you're building AI systems without VC funding, every vendor choice is a survival decision. I've made three that haunt my P&L: one API contract that gates 40% of our agent traffic, one database architecture that tripled our compute costs, and one infrastructure bet that Oracle made obsolete six months after signing.
Here's what a fractional CTO AI vendor lock-in audit should catch before you sign anything.
The API Prison: When 40% of Traffic Flows Through One Provider
