# Y Combinator's Garry Tan says he spends up to $200K a year on AI tokens

> Original title: Y Combinator’s Garry Tan uses AI agents so much, he spends up to $200K a year on tokens

- Source: TechCrunch · AI
- Published: 2026-11-03T00:35:52.000Z
- Bad Influence: https://badinfluence.news/items/iv9m0chrj39v2xdi366wrleb6
- Original: https://techcrunch.com/2026/11/02/y-combinators-garry-tan-uses-ai-agents-so-much-he-spends-up-to-200k-a-year-on-tokens/

## Summary

Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan says he spends about $100,000 to $200,000 a year on tokens for his AI agents, which he uses for work projects, coding, and personal tasks. Tan told Walter Isaacson on The Builders podcast that his agent has read his email, Dropbox, and Apple Notes. He says personal AI agents will become mainstream only once costs come down.