Been watching startups blow through their seed rounds on AI API costs. The pattern is always the same:

1. Start building with a major provider's API

2. Hit production, costs balloon 3-5x what you estimated

3. Scramble to optimize, but you're locked into their pricing

The problem isn't the models — it's the pricing structure. Most providers optimize for enterprise contracts, not bootstrapped teams shipping fast.

At XenAPI, we built pricing around how startups actually use LLMs:

• Predictable monthly costs instead of surprise per-token bills

• Access to multiple models so you can route to the right one for each task

• No minimum commitments — scale when you're ready, not before

If you're burning more than $100/mo on API calls and your product isn't generating revenue yet, you're doing it wrong. Start lean, ship fast, optimize later.

We just launched — $29/mo gets you full API access and community support from other builders.