I left a couple of months ago. Couldn’t be happier.
The writing is on the wall. The leader thinks the Genius-with-hair-transplants is a superstar, despite destroying a globally recognised brand. Inspired by this, Spez is trying to get Reddit ready for an IPO. This means, maximise profits by any means.
The API fees clearly weren’t made to make money directly though, it was meant to get rid of 3rd party clients so they could more effectively do what the OP is about.