Open-weight models surge to 29% of volume, price per token flattens

In July 2026, AI Gateway reported a 29% increase in token volume and a 27% rise in spending for June, with the price per token remaining stable after a significant increase in May. Open-weight models, which are more cost-effective, accounted for 29% of token volume but only 4% of spending, indicating a shift towards volume-efficient models like DeepSeek, which now ranks third in token volume usage. Anthropic led in spending, particularly for high-stakes use cases, while OpenAI's GPT Image dominated image generation, and Chinese labs led in video spend. The introduction of Z.ai's GLM 5.2 model saw rapid adoption, highlighting the market's appetite for innovative and cost-effective AI solutions. Additionally, the US export-control directive temporarily halted the use of Anthropic's newly launched Claude Fable 5, reflecting the regulatory challenges in the AI landscape. Overall, the report illustrates a dynamic AI market characterized by strategic spending across different models, with distinct leaders emerging in various modalities.

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