Let’s be honest.
The AI market lately has been the easiest thing in the world to predict:
Build something with “AI” in the pitch deck.
Raise a few million.
Become a “Soonicorn.”
Then a unicorn.
Then… silence.
Because we haven’t actually seen what happens after the AI gold rush phase.
Right now, it feels like 1999 again.
Every week there’s:
A new AI chip company
A new foundation model
A new “GPT but better”
A new infrastructure play
And VCs are throwing around $100M like it’s lunch money.
There’s even a TechCrunch piece floating around showing startups hitting $10M ARR in 3 months. Months. That used to take years.
We don’t need that!
Here’s the uncomfortable truth:
We don’t need that many AI chip companies.
We don’t need that many GPT clones.
We don’t need that many “AI for X” wrappers.
The market will correct.
It always does.
I was looking at a new NVIDIA competitor recently. Raised $500M at a $5B valuation.
Ambitious? Sure.
Impressive? On paper.
But when you compare them to NVIDIA, the scale difference is almost comical.
This isn’t me saying they’ll fail.
It’s me saying capital is too easy right now.
And when capital is easy, discipline disappears.
Everyone is building infrastructure for a future that “everyone is betting on.”
But remember this:
Cisco was essential to the internet.
The internet won.
Cisco stock didn’t.
There’s no automatic correlation between being in the right industry and becoming the right company.
It’s no longer:
“How fast can you get to $100M ARR?”
It’s:
“Can you grow steadily when the hype cools?”
The age of easy AI money is peaking.
The correction won’t kill AI.
It will just kill the laziness.
And honestly? That’s healthy.