# AI startup Lindy ditched Claude entirely for Deepseek, saving millions as cost pressure mounts on Anthropic > Source: > Published: 2026-06-26 15:09:26+00:00 # AI startup Lindy ditched Claude entirely for Deepseek, saving millions as cost pressure mounts on Anthropic **Anthropic better get moving on its IPO.** OpenAI apparently already [missed its optimal window and postponed](https://the-decoder.com/altman-wont-go-public-for-less-than-1-trillion-so-openais-ipo-may-slip-to-2027/). Now even [Anthropic's explosive growth](https://the-decoder.com/anthropics-900-billion-valuation-would-make-it-more-valuable-than-openai-for-the-first-time/) could come under pressure as companies tighten AI spending and turn to cheaper Chinese alternatives. AI startup Lindy is a case in point: CEO [Flo Crivello ditched Claude entirely for Deepseek](https://x.com/Altimor/status/2062389885437366342?s=20), hosted by a US company on US soil. The cost curve "crashed to the ground," saving millions, he told [CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/26/openai-anthropic-new-ai-spending-reality-as-users-shift-to-efficiency.html). AI costs for the 25-person startup had been "unsustainable," exceeding personnel costs. Crivello said he'd switch back if Anthropic cut prices: "It's a matter of survival for the business." A recent [analysis by Snowflake's CTO](https://the-decoder.com/snowflake-ceo-finds-glm-5-2-competitive-with-opus-4-7-at-a-fraction-of-the-cost/) showed that affordable [Chinese models like GLM-5.2](https://the-decoder.com/snowflake-ceo-finds-glm-5-2-competitive-with-opus-4-7-at-a-fraction-of-the-cost/) don't quite match Claude but are competitive and easily win on the price-performance ratio depending on the task. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently said that AI cost [became a "huge issue"](https://the-decoder.com/openai-ceo-sam-altman-sees-proactive-ai-as-the-next-big-phase-after-chatbots-and-agents/) for companies with the recent switch to agentic systems burning through tokens. ``` AI News Without the Hype – Curated by Humans Subscribe to THE DECODER for ad-free reading, a weekly AI newsletter, our exclusive "AI Radar" frontier report six times a year, full archive access, and access to our comment section. Subscribe now ```