Menlo Ventures: enterprise AI spending jumps 5.4x to $176.8 billion as agents become biggest model consumers

Menlo Ventures released its 2026 State of Enterprise AI report on November 3, finding that enterprise AI spending reached $176.8 billion by September 2026, up 5.4x from $33 billion a year earlier, as autonomous agents transformed how businesses use and pay for AI. (Cover photo is an illustration of an AI data centre.)

Agents now outweigh humans in model usage

On OpenRouter, one channel the report cites, agents generate 80% of all tokens, roughly seven times human-driven usage. Since agent traffic overtook human traffic in February, agent token consumption has grown 37x, compared with 5x growth in human-driven usage. Menlo partner Tim Tully said enterprise AI spending has jumped more than fivefold, from $33 billion last year to $177 billion this year, accelerating from 3.9x growth the year before.

Spending shifts from training to deployment

For every dollar spent on AI model training this year, enterprises are spending $1.70 putting AI to work, the report finds. Menlo, which marked its 50th anniversary in June 2026, also announced $3 billion in fresh capital to back the next generation of AI companies.