AI can cost more than human workers now
TL;DR
IT budgets are blowing up as some companies spend more on AI than on employee salaries. Nvidia's Bryan Catanzaro says compute costs already exceed the people costs of his team, and Uber's CTO has already burned through his full 2026 AI budget. Gartner projects worldwide IT spending of $6.31 trillion in 2026, up 13.5% from 2025, driven by sustained momentum across AI infrastructure, software and cloud services.
Nauti's Take
Compute instead of headcount is a real opportunity for AI-native teams who can suddenly compete with a small headcount and a large inference budget — Swan AI, for example, scales an autonomous back office with minimal staff. The catch: when compute costs more than salaries, the economic case for AI gets thin, and hyperscaler margins come under pressure.
Sensible for clearly measurable tasks, risky for teams buying AI as a cure-all.
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