---
title: "Demand-based AI pricing is coming."
slug: demand-based-ai-pricing-is-coming-861f5ce332
source: linkedin
kind: post
publishedAt: 2026-07-08
externalUrl: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7480580475107946496
---

Demand-based AI pricing is coming.  DeepSeek recently announced that using their AI models through their hosting service will be more expensive during peak windows (9am to 12pm and 2pm to 6pm Beijing time).  Expect to see token costs almos…

Demand-based AI pricing is coming.

DeepSeek recently announced that using their AI models through their hosting service will be more expensive during peak windows (9am to 12pm and 2pm to 6pm Beijing time).

Expect to see token costs almost double during peak hours.

While still one of the cheapest options for usage-based hosted AI, this could be a sign of things to come for the US providers.

OpenAI and Anthropic have been in a constant battle for more compute capacity. SpaceX has signed deals with Anthropic and Google to use their infrastructure for the consistent increases in AI demand.

Meta seems to be following suit by planning on launching their own AI model hosting platform, to use their excess compute capacity.

Eventually, all of this excess compute capacity will gone. While there are many data center projects happening across the US, if they even get built, we are looking at years before they will be fully operational.

If compute capacity becomes a hard blocker in the US, don’t be surprised if demand-based pricing pops up.

At this point, it feels like it is only a matter of time.