Revolut switched coding default to open-source GLM, cutting bills to 1/10 and coding time 60%
2C_ornot2C · x · 2026-11-03
Revolut, Europe's most valuable startup at $200B, revealed an AI strategy many expect others to copy: it switched its default coding model from frontier APIs to open-source GLM, renting GPUs from Together AI.
- Earlier this year, 2,000 engineers used Claude Code and Codex, some burning $1,000–$10,000/month with returns that didn't justify the bills
- After the switch (chart shows a sharp drop in coding time and lead time since moving to self-hosted open source in April):
- Bill is about 1/10 of what it paid OpenAI and Anthropic
- Engineers get unlimited tokens instead of spend caps
- Coding time down 60%, lead time down 70%
- Claude and GPT remain 'the exception,' used only for tasks they do best
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