{"version":1,"type":"story","url":"https://digestai.news/story/tokenomics-foundation-launches-big-t-notation-and-mind-map-for-ai-spen","json":"https://digestai.news/story/tokenomics-foundation-launches-big-t-notation-and-mind-map-for-ai-spen.json","markdown":"https://digestai.news/story/tokenomics-foundation-launches-big-t-notation-and-mind-map-for-ai-spen.md","slug":"tokenomics-foundation-launches-big-t-notation-and-mind-map-for-ai-spen","headline":"Tokenomics Foundation launches Big-T Notation and Mind Map for AI spend tracking","summary":"The Tokenomics Foundation hosted its first conference, Tokenomicon + FinOps X, in Amsterdam on September 22–23, gathering over 500 practitioners focused on AI billing and token economics. The event highlighted challenges in proving value from AI budgets, with agentic coding emerging as the fastest-growing but least-understood cost driver for engineering teams. The Foundation introduced two key tools: **Big-T Notation**, which models how token consumption scales with workflow complexity (repeated context, nested model calls, and agent interactions), and the **Tokenomics Mind Map**, a shared vocabulary for AI supply chain pillars—production, consumption, and value—aimed at aligning engineers and finance teams.\n\nQuesma contributed to both projects, advocating for standardized billing formats (like FOCUS 1.5) to track model IDs, token types (input/output/cached), and PrincipalIds for accountability. The Foundation also released a **prompt cache explainer**, demonstrating how reordering prompts can optimize caching and reduce costs. A survey of 472 respondents across 11 industries (totaling $4.6 trillion in revenue) revealed that **43% struggle to prove AI ROI**, while **27% lack visibility into spending attribution**. Clear ownership of AI economics correlates with measurable outcomes, the report noted. Quesma plans to expand its open-source **Quesma Shipper** for coding-agent session tracking and collaborate further with the Foundation’s working groups.","keyPoints":["Tokenomics Foundation released Big-T Notation to model token spend growth in complex AI workflows","Mind Map standardizes AI supply chain terms for production, consumption, and value tracking","Survey of 472 companies ($4.6T revenue) finds 43% can’t prove AI spend ROI, 27% lack spending visibility"],"whyItMatters":"Standardizing token economics tools like Big-T Notation and the Mind Map helps teams budget, optimize, and justify AI costs—critical as agentic workflows drive unpredictable spending spikes.","category":{"slug":"research","name":"Research","url":"https://digestai.news/category/research"},"entities":{"companies":["Tokenomics Foundation","Quesma","Linux Foundation","PointFive","Infracost","OpenAI"],"models":[],"people":["Alon Arvatz","Alistair Scott","JR Storment","Małgorzata","Irene Cieraad"]},"firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-25T18:34:04Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-25T18:34:04Z","sourceCount":1,"hasPrimarySource":false,"sources":[{"outlet":"quesma.com","title":"Token ecomonics in Amsterdam: Inside the first Tokenomicon","url":"https://quesma.com/blog/inside-the-first-tokenomicon-amsterdam","publishedAt":"2026-09-25T18:34:04Z","type":"press","primary":false,"lead":true}],"sourceNotes":null,"discussions":[{"site":"Reddit","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/artificial/comments/1wq43lr/token_ecomonics_in_amsterdam_inside_the_first/","points":null}],"thread":null,"cite":{"text":"Digest AI, \"Tokenomics Foundation launches Big-T Notation and Mind Map for AI spend tracking\", 25 September 2026, https://digestai.news/story/tokenomics-foundation-launches-big-t-notation-and-mind-map-for-ai-spen","publisher":"Digest AI","title":"Tokenomics Foundation launches Big-T Notation and Mind Map for AI spend tracking","datePublished":"2026-09-25T18:34:04Z","url":"https://digestai.news/story/tokenomics-foundation-launches-big-t-notation-and-mind-map-for-ai-spen"},"generatedBy":"Written by Digest AI's editorial model from the linked sources; the sources are the record.","license":"Headlines, digests and key points are written by Digest AI and may be quoted with a link to the story page. Linked articles belong to their publishers. Terms: https://digestai.news/terms#reuse"}