Uber is facing a dilemma after reportedly depleting its annual artificial intelligence budget just four months into 2026. The company is now questioning whether its substantial investments in AI are truly paying off. In a conversation with Rapid Response, Uber’s President and Chief Operating Officer, Andrew Macdonald, expressed doubts about the correlation between the increased use of Claude Code and the development of beneficial features for consumers.
“We haven’t yet seen a direct connection,” Macdonald remarked. “Perhaps indirectly, more is being released, but it’s challenging to pinpoint a direct link that indicates we’re generating 25 percent more valuable features for consumers.” He added, “While some underlying metrics show significant growth, it’s currently difficult to see a clear impact. This might become evident in the future, but as of now, it’s not clear-cut.”
In 2025, Uber invested $3.4 billion in research and development, marking a 9 percent increase from the previous year. Earlier this month, Uber’s CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, mentioned that the company was compensating for its rising AI expenditures by reducing the number of human hires.
Macdonald further highlighted the challenge of balancing costs, stating, “We need to start evaluating token consumption and its costs against our staffing levels. If we can’t clearly link these investments to tangible benefits for our users, justifying this trade-off becomes increasingly difficult.”
