Uber's AI Spending Outpaces Returns, Budget Exhausted in Four Months

Uber has burned through its entire 2026 AI budget in four months, according to company president Andrew Macdonald. The shortfall stems from heavy spending on Claude Code, an AI coding tool, without clear corresponding improvements to customer-facing features. The company spent $3.4 billion on research last year. The mismatch between computational costs and measurable business gains reflects a wider industry challenge: quantifying whether large language models actually deliver value.