AI Economics for AI-First Companies
AI-first companies face a unique paradox: your core value proposition is your biggest cost center. Every query costs money. Every hallucination creates liability. Every model dependency creates risk.
Margin Erosion
Every AI interaction costs money. Unlike traditional SaaS, AI-first products operate at 40-70% margins, compressing valuation multiples.
Model Dependency
Building on third-party models means your core capability is external. Price changes, deprecations, and regressions are commercial risks.
Hallucination Liability
When your AI gives wrong information to a customer, who is liable? AI Hallucination Debt compounds invisibly until it creates a crisis.
Unsustainable Unit Economics
Most AI features are margin-negative when fully loaded. We model inference, retrieval, monitoring, and error handling to find profitability.
How I Help AI-First Companies
- → Model AI unit economics before and after launch using the AUEB calculator
- → Identify which AI features to convert to deterministic code (Evergreen Ratio)
- → Implement AI governance through Exogram integration
- → Audit model dependency risk and create multi-provider strategies
Need a sector-specific audit?
I run R&D capital audits tailored to your industry's cost structures, compliance requirements, and scaling patterns.
Richard Ewing — AI Economist & Capital Auditor