Bubble trouble: could the AI boom go pop?

AI投资能否持久

Money Talks from The Economist

2025-10-09

38 分钟
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Until recently, tech bosses who invested their company's money too freely could expect to be punished by investors. Not so in the age of AI. Last year, $1trn was spent on AI hardware and software. Spending is still surging, to the delight of investors. The value of America's stockmarket has risen by $21trn since the release of ChatGPT in 2022. But AI companies and services still only account for revenue in the low tens of billions of dollars. Could that mismatch turn the AI market boom to bust? Hosts: The Economist's Mike Bird and Alice Fulwood. Guests: Byrne Hobart, author of “Boom: Bubbles and the End of Stagnation”, and Harris Kupperman of Praetorian Capital Management. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.
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  • The Economist.

  • It's called ChatGPT.

  • More than just search results, it provides fully synthesized answers, code, cover letters, and more.

  • That was 2022, and investors were beginning to see the potential.

  • Let's look at Nvidia having a pretty solid day, up 2.8% at the moment,

  • after Citigroup predicted the chatbot ChatGPT could be a Pokémon Go moment for artificial intelligence.

  • Since then, Nvidia's share price has increased by more than 1,000%,

  • and the value of America's stock market has climbed by $21 trillion.

  • Just ten firms, including Nvidia, account for more than half of that.

  • But despite kickstarting this bull run, OpenAI, which makes ChatGPT, may make just around $13 billion in revenue this year.

  • Nevertheless, OpenAI plans a trillion dollar plus infrastructure buildout across chips, data centers, and custom silicone.

  • And all of that has got analysts and investors asking, "Are we in an AI bubble?"

  • "Are you concerned at all about a bubble?"

  • "Do you think it's possible we're in a bit of an AI bubble?"

  • "How do you think about this bubble talk?"

  • So, what could make the AI stock market pop?

  • You're listening to Money Talks from The Economist, our weekly podcast on the markets, the economy, and the world of business.

  • In New York, I'm Mike Bird.

  • In Washington DC, I'm Alice Fulwood.

  • And in today's show, are we in an AI bubble?