Rippling Found AI Token Spend Heading Toward 40% of R&D Headcount Budget

Rippling discovered in March 2026 it was on track to spend 40% of its R&D headcount budget on AI tokens, growing 80% month-over-month. About 10–15% of employees drove roughly 60% of total AI spend; one engineer burned $50,000 monthly. Management called the findings "incredulous" and launched an urgent project that became AI Spend Console, launched August 6, 2026.