SynopsisThis is a departure from the early days, when companies trusted only the most powerful models regardless of cost. Now, founders are building orchestration layers and using tools like OpenRouter alongside custom, Hermes-style routing systems that send a task to the model best suited for the job both in terms of capability and price, a founder of an AI startup told ET.Indian startups are adopting a tiered approach to artificial intelligence (AI), routing only their most complex tasks to expensive frontier models while relying on cheaper, lower-tier options for everyday execution, which founders said is changing how AI costs are managed at scale.This is a departure from the early days, when companies trusted only the most powerful models regardless of cost. Now, founders are building orchestration layers andNow Playing
Startups turn to lower-tier AI models to cut costs as frontier pricing rises - The Economic Times
This is a departure from the early days, when companies trusted only the most powerful models regardless of cost. Now, founders are building orchestration layers and using tools like OpenRouter alongside custom, Hermes-style routing systems that send a task to the model best suited for the job both in terms of capability and price, a founder of an AI startup told ET.
TL;DRAI
Startups adopt tiered routing architectures, sending routine work to cheaper models and complex tasks to frontier models via OpenRouter and custom orchestration. Rising frontier pricing reshapes AI stack economics, making model stratification essential for margins and procurement decisions.
129 words~1 min read
