Token wholesale model becomes focus of platform announcements, pricing strategy shifts to bulk discounts
In October 2026, several leading domestic AI model platforms issued announcements, declaring adjustments to API call pricing strategies and officially launching a token wholesale model. Unlike the previous flexible pricing based on usage, the new model allows enterprises to obtain bulk token quotas through prepurchase or subscription, with unit prices significantly reduced. According to industry analysis, this adjustment directly addresses the cost sensitivity faced by small and medium enterprises in practical applications. One platform explicitly stated in its announcement that its "Enterprise Token Package" can reduce the cost per call by over 40% and promised to provide the "cheapest token" in the industry. This move is interpreted by the market as a key signal of AI platforms shifting from "technology demonstration" to "commercial penetration."
Policy escalation: Local governments and platforms jointly distribute computing power subsidies
Concurrent with platform announcements, multiple local governments intensively introduced AI industry support policies in October. For example, a city in the Yangtze River Delta announced the establishment of a special fund to provide up to 30% subsidies on computing power costs for enterprises using APIs from locally registered platforms; the Pearl River Delta region launched "AI cloud vouchers" to directly offset costs for enterprises purchasing model services through channels such as AI relay stations. Policy design clearly tilts toward the channel ecosystem—enterprises that purchase services through certified AI API relay stations or token agents can additionally enjoy tax reductions. This dual mechanism of "platform profit-sharing + government subsidies" has brought the comprehensive cost of model calls to a historic low, accelerating deployment in vertical industries such as finance, healthcare, and education.
Channel agent ecosystem matures, AI relay stations' role becomes prominent
With the spread of the token wholesale model, intermediary service providers represented by AI hub and AI channel agents have risen rapidly. Multiple platforms explicitly opened cooperation interfaces in their announcements, allowing secondary distribution and customer management through token relay stations. For example, a platform disclosed that it signed agreements with three major AI large model agents, which will provide customized packages for enterprises and undertake technical integration and operation and maintenance support. This model lowers the trial threshold for small and medium enterprises: they do not need to directly interface with the original model manufacturer; they can obtain stable call experience and transparent billing standards through AI API relay stations. Industry observers pointed out that the maturity of the channel ecosystem allows platforms to focus on model iteration, while agents leverage localized service advantages, forming a benign division of labor.
Outlook: How to balance the cheapest token and large-scale application
Although token wholesale and policy subsidies have significantly lowered costs in the short term, the industry debates whether the "cheapest token" can maintain quality consistently. Some platforms emphasized in their announcements that the wholesale model will not sacrifice response speed or model performance, but instead achieve cost optimization through reserved resource pools and dynamic scheduling. At the same time, channels such as AI hub and token agents are also exploring value-added services, such as providing private deployment options and industry fine-tuning support, to avoid falling into price wars. It is foreseeable that with the implementation of this round of policies and pricing strategies in October, the fourth quarter of 2026 will become a key turning period for large models moving from "usable" to "good to use," and the degree of standardization of the channel ecosystem will determine the depth of this process.