5/20/2026 at 9:53:35 PM
by evo_9
5/21/2026 at 9:02:32 AM
Is the "mic drop" in the headline refering to how bad a deal this is for any startup that takes it?by blitzar
5/21/2026 at 1:56:00 AM
What a great way to boost usage before an IPO. Definitely not scammy behavior!by shimman
5/21/2026 at 4:01:26 AM
This sounds like how you get (or at least used to get) free AWS and Azure credits in your first x years as a startup or until you met revenue thresholds. You wouldn't get as many, but, you didn't have to give up a share of your company, to my knowledge.Were there actually larger credit grants that would've been in exchange for equity, or, is OpenAI doing something novel?
by 1123581321
5/20/2026 at 10:28:42 PM
The desperation is strong in this oneby jonahbenton
5/21/2026 at 12:37:09 AM
If that's in API price, they may be better of with the subscription.by KHRZ
5/21/2026 at 2:05:37 AM
The first taste is free, with a certain perspective on equityby bravetraveler
5/21/2026 at 7:46:32 PM
the tokens are real electricity and capacity.in ~3 years that equity may be worthless.
by red-iron-pine
5/21/2026 at 2:14:12 AM
Isn’t that a taxable gift, i.e. reportable income for the recipient, given the normal price charged for said tokens, though?by altairprime
5/21/2026 at 2:52:30 AM
I have no idea, just a BigCo engineer! Like someone getting hooked... taxes are a Later Problem. Anyway, the deal sounds less like a 'mic drop' and more like something else hitting the table.Say 'Whizbang Model 6.8' comes out and tokens burn ~5x faster; what to do? Agree to give up less of the business or hope for proportional growth? The two million that had been agreed is no longer truly available/applicable. How this and the equity 'shake out' are probably relevant.
At risk of upsetting people, token value is arbitrary. What model, what time of day? What transaction? All to say: I have no idea what the Tax Man or our fake business would want :) Above my pay grade, thankfully!
by bravetraveler
5/21/2026 at 3:20:42 AM
No, because it's an investment for equityby HWR_14
5/21/2026 at 9:58:28 AM
It's just a little casual grooming for customers to prey on, is all.by kotaKat
5/21/2026 at 10:42:50 AM
Is the term "tokenmaxxing" now really used unironically and as a desirable thing?by xg15
5/21/2026 at 2:55:17 PM
> $2M in OpenAI tokensHow about real money or even Apple Gift cards?
by Rp8yXmdmr
5/21/2026 at 8:32:58 AM
Reminder that "$2 million worth of OpenAI tokens" is meaningless and codes for "as much access to OpenAI infrastructure as Sam Altman feels like letting you have".by dTal
5/21/2026 at 9:03:14 AM
It could be at cost, but probably notby interstice
5/20/2026 at 10:12:05 PM
Adding more layers to circular investments.by dude250711
5/20/2026 at 10:18:20 PM
Hey, it's the thing I said was going to happen. Thank's for taking my suggestion, Sam.by bigbuppo
5/21/2026 at 5:41:19 AM
Very odd shadow economy that is in the making here.by mawadev
5/21/2026 at 9:04:33 AM
Like sci-fi with currency based in kwh or life minutes but this time it's tokensby interstice
5/21/2026 at 1:02:00 AM
I thought code was free nowby just_once
5/21/2026 at 1:49:39 AM
Good ideas are expensive. Which is why he's blanket investing, to catch the winners.by JacobAsmuth
5/21/2026 at 9:42:06 AM
But why would they agree? Coding is free (or at least $200 a month)by just_once
5/21/2026 at 1:07:41 PM
No thanksby dbbk
5/20/2026 at 10:35:10 PM
Sounds like they have an oversupply of these tokens.by moogly
5/21/2026 at 1:43:12 AM
It's only a token offer... I'll see myself out.by sellmesoap
5/21/2026 at 2:12:46 AM
> i am excited to see what will happen with tokenmaxxing startups, both for how they work internally and the products they can build.Am I the only one who gets a physical, visceral churning in their gut when they read/hear someone unironically using the term "tokenmaxxing"?
This is the absolute worst timeline, and I'm embarrassed to even be in an industry adjacent to these dorks.
by seattle_spring
5/21/2026 at 5:23:51 PM
This is not in defense of tokenmaxxing, I just want to remind that CompSci has already been full of ridiculous names that we all just got used to.Bogo sort, Canary, and Rubber-Ducking come to mind
Even BASH comes from 'Borne Again SHell', since they re-did what Stephen Bourne made, and it sounds like 'Born Again'
by dpoloncsak
5/21/2026 at 8:07:19 PM
10 years ago i'd never had imagined i'd be using the word 'kubernetes' or 'kube' on the regularat least tokenmaxxing has a straightforward implication, and the maxxing implies idiocy or excess
by red-iron-pine
5/21/2026 at 12:45:15 AM
Maybe they can borrow a few OpenAI engineers too?by phendrenad2
5/21/2026 at 12:39:05 AM
so weve officially reached the gambling sddiction portion of the LLM show. good luck FOMOby cyanydeez