U.S. Companies Purchase DeepSeek API Directly as Ramp Report Shows Cost-Driven Shift

According to Ramp's June 2026 report, U.S. companies are directly purchasing DeepSeek's official hosted API services to reduce costs, with analysis of over 50,000 enterprises' credit card spending records showing DeepSeek ranked among the platform's top software. Despite earlier U.S. concerns about Chinese AI models, the spending data reveals many American firms are sending data directly to servers located in China rather than deploying open-source models locally.

Facing high bills from OpenAI and Anthropic, many mid-sized U.S. enterprises are adopting cost optimization strategies, shifting from premium providers to cheaper alternatives including open-source inference platforms like Fireworks AI and DeepInfra. Companies increasingly use intelligent routing, reserving expensive flagship models for complex tasks while handling routine work through lower-cost options.