NEA Partner Says Enterprises Still Measuring AI Return on Investment
Original: NEA’s Tiffany Luck says enterprises are still figuring out their AI ROI
Why This Matters
Enterprise AI ROI measurement is critical for sustainable AI adoption and venture investment decisions in the sector.
NEA venture partner Tiffany Luck discusses how enterprises are struggling to measure return on investment from AI spending, following earlier 'tokenmaxxing' trends where companies aggressively pushed AI usage without clear ROI tracking.
Tiffany Luck, a partner at venture capital firm NEA, addressed the growing tension between AI hype and actual return on investment in an episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast. Earlier in 2026, Silicon Valley saw a trend called 'tokenmaxxing' where CEOs encouraged employees to maximize AI usage regardless of measurable outcomes. This approach has since faced reality checks: Uber reportedly exhausted its annual AI budget within months, some companies reduced Claude licenses for portions of their organizations, and Meta discontinued its internal leaderboard. Luck, who previously helped convince companies to adopt e-commerce, is now focused on AI opportunities, particularly 'magic moments' in consumer business applications. During the podcast discussion with Rebecca Bellan, she explored the future of personal AI agents, this year's AI-related IPOs, and how startups are emerging to help enterprises track and measure their AI spending and returns. The conversation reflects broader industry concerns about translating AI investments into tangible business value.