Rethinking AI TCO: Why Cost per Token Is the Only Metric That Matters (6 minute read)

Cost per token is crucial for AI infrastructure TCO assessment due to its focus on delivered intelligence, integrating hardware, software, and utilization efficiencies. Unlike traditional metrics like compute cost or FLOPS per dollar, cost per token highlights real-world performance, enabling profitable AI scaling. Evidence from NVIDIA shows its Blackwell platform drastically reduces cost per token compared to Hopper, offering significant business value.