Tokenomics & FinOps AI: Managing AI Costs in 2026

How tokenomics is reshaping FinOps in 2026: Ben from Vantage breaks down AI cost management, MCP, AI gateways, agentic workflows, and the new Canvas product launch at FinOps X San Diego.

Learn more about Vantage: https://hub.finopsweekly.com/company/vantage?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=finopsx_interview

Try Canvas at: https://www.vantage.sh/features/canvas?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=finopsx_interview

Learn how to manage and allocate AI and token costs with FinOps in this FinOps X interview. We cover the new Tokenomics Foundation, AI gateways like OpenRouter and LiteLLM, MCP integrations, agentic workflows, and Vantage's new AI-native Canvas product for building cost reports with a single prompt. Essential watch for anyone tracking cloud and AI spend in 2026.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro at FinOps X San Diego
00:58 - Most useful AI features for FinOps
02:28 - MCP support as table stakes
02:48 - Agentic workflows & autonomous agents
02:41 - The Cambrian explosion of AI providers
03:25 - The Tokenomics Foundation announcement
04:11 - Is tokenomics part of FinOps?
05:29 - Supporting customers with token costs
06:11 - Investing in AI before it was a story
07:30 - New providers: Neoclouds & inference
09:23 - Getting visibility first on AI costs
10:32 - AI models as the new EC2 instances
11:51 - Keeping up with constant model updates
13:24 - Standardizing on AI gateways
16:24 - Why gateways help enterprises
18:08 - Vantage's big launch: Canvas
19:54 - Building reports with a single prompt
23:27 - MCP adapters & new use cases
26:00 - What keeps Ben up at night
29:00 - The pace of AI change in FinOps
30:36 - The energy at FinOps X 2026
31:53 - Wrap up & goodbye

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