AI startup CEO Dan Shipper spent $13,000 on OpenAI Codex in a month, and isn’t worried

The chief executive of AI-focused startup “Every” has revealed that he spent about $13,000 on OpenAI’s Codex in a single month, underscoring how deeply artificial intelligence tools are becoming embedded in workplace operations.

According to a Business Insider report, co-founder and CEO of “Every” Dan Shipper said the company views AI access as a standard cost of doing business, much like laptops or employee benefits. The New York-based firm, which operates across media, software and AI consulting, provides AI subscriptions to all of its 27 employees and also covers additional usage costs.

Shipper told Business Insider that the $13,000 bill came from his personal Codex overages last month, making it one of the highest AI-related expenses he could remember. Comparing it with spending from a year ago, he said the costs were “way, way, way, way, way, way, way, more.”

The executive said he relies heavily on Codex for everyday work. The AI system helps him read emails, manage his calendar, suggest meeting times and draft responses. While the tool does not send messages independently, Shipper said much of the correspondence surrounding his interview with Business Insider was generated by AI. “All the words are pretty much Codex,” he told the publication.

AI as an employee benefit

At Every, AI spending is increasingly being viewed as an operational necessity rather than an experimental expense. According to Business Insider reports, all employees receive entry-level AI subscriptions, while technical staff are given access to higher-tier plans. The company also pays for token overages and does not impose strict limits on AI usage, provided spending remains financially sustainable.

The company initially experimented with assigning individual AI agents to employees. However, it later shifted to a model where specialised agents support entire teams. One such agent, named Claudie, assists the consulting division by creating presentation drafts, preparing sales proposals and tracking client tasks.

Shipper argued that AI is more likely to reshape jobs than replace them outright. He told Business Insider that the technology could allow more workers to move into managerial and supervisory roles because managing AI systems is less expensive and risky than managing large teams of people. At the same time, he acknowledged that AI still struggles with identifying what is genuinely interesting or valuable, particularly in creative fields such as writing.

His comments come as AI coding and productivity tools gain traction across the technology industry. OpenAI President Greg Brockman recently said AI coding tools have advanced rapidly and can now generate as much as 80% of a developer’s code, although human oversight remains essential.

Despite growing competition from rivals such as Anthropic, Shipper expressed confidence in Codex’s long-term prospects. And while discussing prompt-writing habits, he added a light-hearted note, saying he remains polite to AI systems because “you never know when they’re going to take over the world.”