Sam Altman said AI budgeting had recently become a "huge issue" for some companies — and it sent AI bubble watchers and doomers into a frenzy. During a Tuesday enterprise event, Altman referenced memes like, "My company spent my entire 2026 budget in Q1." "That went from, at the beginning of this year, an issue that never came up — people were totally happy with the amount they were spending — to all of a sudden, a huge issue," Altman said. The reader response was loud.