𝐏𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐀𝐈’𝐬 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬
We all marvel at AI’s rapid rise, but what if I told you the industry’s momentum leans precariously on the shoulders of just eight or nine titans?
𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨’𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰:
𝐍𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐚 owns the lion’s share of the AI chip market, making it central to nearly every major advance.
𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭, 𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐞 house most of the world’s cloud muscle and bankroll the industry’s top startups.
𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐀𝐈, 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜, and a handful more are at the innovation frontier but depend heavily on those above for cash and compute.
𝐀𝐌𝐃 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐎𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞 play supporting roles, deepening the web of mutual reliance.
Together, these few dictate AI’s pace, direction, and, honestly, its sense of security.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝐎𝐫, 𝐚 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐬)
Here’s the kicker: money in AI doesn’t just flow; it loops. The big names pour billions into one another’s products, inflating revenue and (conveniently) stock prices. Nvidia invests in OpenAI, who buys Nvidia chips. Amazon steers money toward Anthropic (which, unsurprisingly, runs on AWS). Microsoft gives to OpenAI, OpenAI pays for Azure time, and so on. Oracle grabs cloud contracts, then snaps up Nvidia hardware.
It’s mutually beneficial—until demand cools or one player flinches. The entire machine leans so heavily on circular spending that it would take only a minor disruption—a supply hiccup, a regulatory blow, or a misfire in demand—to send wobbles throughout global finance.
𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤, 𝐖𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬
With so few companies propping up the whole sector, we get the illusion of broad-based progress while, in reality, all bets are placed on a hand-picked group. This makes the S&P 500 and even US GDP growth vulnerable—hold the party line, and everything looks great. But if one domino tips, everyone from pension funds to tech workers is in for a bumpy ride.
𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞
When wealth and innovation bottleneck through a few firms, two things happen: risk piles up fast, and the impacts of a downturn amplify. The past year’s stock market boom? That’s largely thanks to the AI club. Take away their capital spending and the economic picture darkens quickly. Add in job market exposure, and what happens next could reshape the middle class.
Bottom Line: Cautious Optimism
AI’s not going away—but neither is the looming risk.
1 Comment.
such a nice a blod