"An 'AI golden age' or an 'AI bubble'? 10 AI unicorns saw their valuations grow by $1 trillion in a year, VCs invested over $200 billion in one year, and profits are zero."

"An 'AI golden age' or an 'AI bubble'? 10 AI unicorns saw their valuations grow by $1 trillion in a year, VCs invested over $200 billion in one year, and profits are zero."

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The AI fever is sweeping global capital markets—but will this heat wave give birth to new tech giants, or lead to yet another bubble?

According to a recent report from the Financial Times, the combined valuations of ten unprofitable AI startups around the world have skyrocketed by nearly $1 trillion over the past 12 months, setting the fastest pace of wealth expansion in history.

These ten companies include OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, Perplexity, Scale AI, Safe Superintelligence, Thinking Machines Lab, Figure AI, Anysphere, and Databricks. Since the start of this year, they have collectively attracted over $200 billion in venture capital, accounting for two-thirds of all US VC investment for the year.

However, almost all of them are operating at a loss.

VC burns through $200 billion in a year, betting on AI

By 2025, the venture capital circle has been completely ignited by AI.

According to PitchBook data, US VCs are set to invest over $200 billion in AI this year, far exceeding the $135 billion invested during the 2021 "Software as a Service (SaaS)" bubble. In comparison, at the peak of the dot-com bubble in 2000, only $10.5 billion (about $20 billion after inflation adjustment) was invested in internet companies.

General Catalyst CEO Hemant Taneja remarked bluntly: "Of course this is a bubble. A bubble is good—it brings capital and talent to new trends. While it creates chaos, it also nurtures companies that change the world."

AI unicorns with "distorted valuations"

In Silicon Valley, an AI company with annual revenue of just $5 million is now asking for a $500 million valuation—100 times its revenue.

A top VC partner candidly admitted: "Even in the zero interest rate era, this kind of company would only be valued at $250 to $300 million. Now it's like everyone assumes they're betting on the next OpenAI."

The logic behind this "betting" investment style is a collective FOMO (fear of missing out). Bessemer Venture Partners investor Sameer Dholakia said: "AI is a technology that can 'add another zero' to everything."

The "winner-takes-all" expectation

Coatue Capital partner Lucas Swisher believes that the AI landscape may repeat the pattern of the internet era—ultimately, only a handful of companies will win.

"Back then, Google and Meta nearly monopolized the entire market. This time around, it might be 15 companies instead of 5."

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff put it even more bluntly: "Maybe $1 trillion in AI investment will turn out to be wasted, but ultimately AI will create 10 times that value. The way technological innovation works has always been—throw money at it and see what sticks."

Risk spillover: from startups to the stock market

Now, valuation swings in private AI companies are beginning to affect public markets.

In recent weeks, giants such as AMD, Nvidia, Broadcom, and Oracle have seen their market values skyrocket by hundreds of billions of dollars due to partnerships with OpenAI. If these AI startups face a cash crunch, the ripple effect could drag down the whole tech stock sector.

Although OpenAI's annualized revenue has reached $13 billion, competition with Microsoft and Google means it remains deeply engaged in a cash-burning battle. The cost to train the next-generation models is rising exponentially, and the profitability timeline remains unclear.

Venture capital author Sebastian Mallaby summed up this fever in one sentence:

"If we can achieve Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), all of this is worth it; if not, it's all for nothing."

What investors are betting on is not just the computing power of the models, but on whether Sam Altman can realize the replication of human intelligence.

Golden age or bubble?

AI may indeed open up a new multi-trillion dollar market, but today's capital frenzy comes with a familiar taste—valuations are seriously decoupled from profitability, and stories come before facts.

Is this the prologue to an "AI golden age," or the replay of another "bubble legend"?

When everyone believes the future belongs to a handful of "AI black hole companies," a bubble's burst is often not far away.

Risk Disclosure and DisclaimerThe market involves risks, and investments need to be made cautiously. This article does not constitute personal investment advice and does not take into account the specific investment objectives, financial situation, or needs of individual users. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article are suitable for their particular circumstances. Investment decisions based on this are made at your own risk. ```