Meet the people helping companies get the best value from their AI spending.
Adaptovate, Runware, Larridin
Don't use Swiss Army knives for surgically precise work; use scalpels.That's what Manos Koukoumidis and other players in the AI cost-saving business say is the biggest problem with how companies use AI. They're using the most powerful, versatile, and expensive AI models — from frontier labs like Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google — to handle niche tasks within their organizations.Koukoumidis, the CEO of the Washington-based AI company Oumi AI, called this practice "widely irrational and inefficient," resulting in staggering AI bills.Founded in 2024, Oumi lets individuals vibe-code their own niche AI models within minutes, tailored to their tasks and goals. It raised $10 million in its 2024 seed round.Oumi is one of the many companies that have sprung up in the last two years to solve the biggest enterprise problem of the day: reducing highly inflated enterprise AI spending and increasing its returns on investment. As companies move away from the tokenmaxxing trend — where employees were encouraged to burn as many AI tokens as they could — these cost-saving services are becoming increasingly sought after.Some of these companies are consulting firms and measurement platforms that advise clients on integrating AI into their workflows in a smart way. Others, like Oumi, are building new products, such as model builders and inference platforms, to tackle the problem from the source.The coachesThe first category is the coaches: the consultants and advisors lighting up the path to AI success.
