Three years ago, ChatGPT was released, triggering a global "AI frenzy" and ushering in a new era.

November 30, 2022: ChatGPT burst onto the scene. What initially seemed like a low-key product launch ignited a global artificial intelligence revolution in just three years, not only reshaping the worlds of technology and business, profoundly changing the landscape of financial markets, but also ushering investors and society into a new era filled with tremendous opportunity and high uncertainty. Since the release of ChatGPT, the AI-driven rally has propelled the S&P 500 up 64%, with most of the growth contributed by a handful of tech giants. Nvidia’s stock price soared 979% during this period, becoming the brightest winner. The seven tech titans—Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Broadcom—collectively contributed nearly half the benchmark index’s gains.

In this fierce competition, there are no perpetual winners. From China’s startup DeepSeek shaking global markets with low-cost models, to OpenAI’s underwhelming GPT-5 release, to Google’s recent strong counterattack with Gemini 3, the technological moat seems to be disappearing. The impact of this transformation extends far beyond finance and technology; it is a profound restructuring of the social fabric. Although the AI boom reversed the market’s gloom during the high-inflation, high-interest-rate period three years ago, it also intensified the economic “K-shaped” divergence. In what The Atlantic calls “the world built by ChatGPT,” investors and companies enjoy the technical bonus but are also facing unprecedented uncertainty and rifts in career paths, as the world waits for the other shoe to drop. Turning the Tide: How AI Saved a Sluggish Market The launch of ChatGPT occurred when global financial markets were enduring one of the worst environments since the financial crisis. In autumn 2022, inflation was surging, the Federal Reserve was raising interest rates at an unprecedented pace, and former post-pandemic market darlings—tech stocks—were at the eye of the storm. According to Yahoo Finance’s review, on October 12, 2022, the S&P 500 hit its post-pandemic selloff low—down 25% from the year’s peak. By the time ChatGPT launched, markets had rebounded somewhat but prospects remained bleak. The future AI winners’ stock prices were battered: Nvidia and Meta plunged nearly 70% in 2022, Amazon’s stock halved, and Alphabet dropped nearly 40%. It was against this backdrop that OpenAI published a simple, six-sentence product announcement, introducing a model that could converse, admit mistakes, and challenge incorrect premises. This seemingly unremarkable announcement unexpectedly offered a lifeline to a market and economy mired in layoffs and high inflation. It ignited a new wave of technological prosperity and became the key catalyst for a shift in market sentiment, turning investors’ attention from dreary macroeconomic clouds to the promising horizon of technological innovation. The debut of ChatGPT directly triggered a capital market AI frenzy, with investors rushing into related sectors at unprecedented levels, creating a remarkable asset appreciation feast. Nvidia, with its commanding lead in AI training chips, became the biggest beneficiary, with its share price soaring a staggering 979% since ChatGPT’s release. The AI boom also lifted valuations for other large tech companies. According to Bloomberg, currently, the top seven companies by market cap in the S&P 500—Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Broadcom—all have deep ties to the tech industry. Their collective gains account for nearly half of the index’s 64% total growth since ChatGPT’s launch. This concentrated growth has made the market increasingly “top-heavy.” Due to the S&P 500’s market-cap weighting, these seven companies’ combined share has surged from about 20% three years ago to 35% today. On the one hand, this demonstrates AI-driven wealth creation; on the other, it raises concerns about market concentration risk. At the same time, OpenAI’s own valuation has rocketed from $14 billion pre-release to $500 billion today, placing it among the world’s most highly valued firms. Rotating Thrones: An AI ‘Arms Race’ Without Moats While the capital market surged, the internal competition within the AI industry painted a different picture: an arms race with no clear winners and rapidly shifting leadership. At the start of 2025, OpenAI was still the undisputed leader. But in January, Chinese startup DeepSeek released a model matching OpenAI’s performance at a fraction of the cost—prompting a one-time crash in Nvidia’s stock. This summer, the much-anticipated GPT-5 underperformed, and Google’s stunning Gemini 3 debut instantly put OpenAI on the defensive. In November, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman admitted to staff that after Gemini’s release, the company needed to prepare for “tough times” and “temporary economic headwinds.” However, Google’s edge may be just as fleeting. Meta’s open-source Llama model has energized countless startups; Alibaba just announced major upgrades to its Qwen model; Anthropic’s Claude model rivals ChatGPT in programming skills. As a leaked 2023 Google internal memo predicted: when technical breakthroughs can be replicated within months, any first-mover advantage is temporary—“We have no moat, neither does OpenAI.” In hindsight, that memo reads more like a precise prophecy. Bubble Warnings and an Uncertain Future As the AI boom enters its fourth year, discussions about bubbles and future uncertainty are mounting—often voiced by industry leaders at the heart of the storm. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and board chair Bret Taylor both admit a bubble may be forming. Taylor compares it to the late 1990s internet bubble—he thinks individual companies may fail, but AI will eventually create enormous long-term economic value, just as the internet did. This uncertainty is spreading across society at large. Karen Hao, author of “AI Empire,” believes OpenAI’s influence has “surpassed almost any nation in the world” and is “reshaping our geopolitics and everyone’s lives.” Yet such reshaping also brings widespread unease. Charlie Warzel wrote in The Atlantic that we are living in a world built by ChatGPT, “characterized by a peculiar instability,” and “perpetually stuck in a crisis mode.” Warzel wrote: “Young people feel this instability most vividly—they’re about to graduate and join the workforce, only to be told their future career paths may be unclear. Older generations are also told the future may look entirely different, and the skills they’ve honed might become obsolete.” Three years on, the era ushered in by ChatGPT is still rapidly evolving, and its ultimate direction may require more time to reveal. Risk warning and disclaimer The market is full of risks; invest 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, viewpoints, or conclusions in this article are suitable for their own circumstances. Investment decisions made based on this article are the responsibility of the user.