> We are slowly inching closer to the point where AI and AI products will be billed for what they cost.

I suspect the API prices are already served with profitable unit economics. The SOTA API prices are much higher than the costs for other providers to run very large open weight models.

The monthly subscription plans were being offered at a discount to generate interest in these models.

We're not entering a period of billing AI at cost. We're entering a period of exploring how how the prices can go before losing too many customers.

Products and services aren't sold at cost. They're sold at the price the market will bear. It takes some experimentation to find that equilibrium point where you make more profit per customer but don't lose too many customers.