> How did it meaningfully impact their revenue in a positive direction?

It probably allowed them to avoid hiring as many people to build a certain amount of software. Even if it didn't increase revenue, it could have lowered human labor costs.

> 128 GB machines that can run local LLMs are a bargain even if priced $5-8k.

Don't forget the energy costs. Searching around, advanced models use an average of 25 Wh/1000Tok.

$1500/month gets you about 150M tokens.

At the aforementioned energy/token, that's 3750kWh.

What are your local office electricity rates/tariffs? (Hint: they are going up because of AI data centers). Even if my price and energy assumptions are wrong above, you probably aren't going to get the rates that the hyperscalers do.

Even at cheap (i.e Texas) retail electricity rates, that many tokens will probably cost you hundreds per month. In most other electricity markets, probably far more.