The Digital Press

The AI investment bubble is set to burst, leaving behind cheap GPUs, unemployed engineers, and open source models that will improve further with optimization. Despite the crash, the technology and skilled talent will persist, enabling continued innovation on more affordable hardware.

Why it matters: AI companies have spent nearly a trillion dollars but generate only around $45 billion a year, making the bubble unsustainable.

The stakes: GPUs powering AI burn out within 2-3 years, sometimes as quickly as 54 days, pressuring companies to recoup massive investments rapidly.

The big picture: After the bubble bursts, open source AI models and cheap hardware will democratize AI, similar to the web’s evolution after the dotcom crash.

Commenters say: The AI crash won’t halt progress; instead, innovation will shift from expensive giants to smaller, resource-efficient players leveraging open source advances.