# Vercel AI Gateway model usage trends > Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/vercel-ai-gateway-model-usage-trends > Updated: 2026-09-19T22:09:46.000Z. Sources: 6. Developments: 2. Data from the Vercel AI Gateway indicates a significant shift in AI model usage, characterized by a growing divide between token volume and financial expenditure. In late August 2026, open-weight models accounted for 62% of all tokens processed, a sharp increase from just 11% in April. By mid-September, this volume rose further to approximately 78.4%. This surge is largely driven by Chinese models, specifically DeepSeek, which has emerged as a leader in volume. For instance, the DeepSeek V4.1 Flash model was reported to account for 59.3% of processed tokens. Despite the dominance of open-weight models in terms of volume, proprietary models from companies like Anthropic continue to capture a majority of total expenditure. This has created a “barbell pattern” in enterprise usage: massive volumes of low-cost inference via open-weight models contrasted with high-cost, premium workloads using closed-source models. This economic trend is supported by a rapid decline in token prices, which fell by over 50% in the months leading up to August 2026. ## Timeline ### 2026-09-19: Vercel AI Gateway data shows split between model volume and spend Vercel AI Gateway data shows open-weight models like DeepSeek dominating token volume, while closed models like Anthropic’s Claude command the majority of total AI spend. 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/vercel-ai-gateway-data-shows-split-between-model-volume-and-spend ### 2026-08-23: Vercel reports open-weight AI models hit 62% of gateway traffic Open-weight AI models reached 62% of token volume on Vercel’s AI Gateway in August, driven by cost-reduction strategies and the popularity of models like DeepSeek. 5 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/vercel-reports-open-weight-ai-models-hit-62-of-gateway-traffic --- Cite as: Vercel AI Gateway model usage trends. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/vercel-ai-gateway-model-usage-trends