Why compute prices can't collapse: you can't buy 10 flops, only trillion-fold bundles
davidmanheim · x · 2026-09-23
Continuing the LLM cost-curve debate: a cited argument notes you can't buy 10 flops of compute separately — the same price buys a trillion times more — and the inverse (everything a trillion times cheaper) is impossible due to fixed-cost bottlenecks. Manheim adds that distilled models do cut costs, but the $0.01/mtok serving floor means the cheapest tiers go unserved, distorting the decline curve.
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