It’s incredible how polarizing the AI rush is. I keep the perspective that the technology is an absolute step change but I have no idea where the cards will fall. I take a lot of issue with these style of articles. I get a sense that the authors are being overly defensive.
The cost to serve tokens is absolutely profitable today and that’s been true for at least a year. What’s unclear is how R&D and capex fit into the picture. I am not that pessimistic on this front either though. For the data center build outs, demand for tokens is still exceeding supply. On the R&D front, well most of us here on HN have benefited from decades of overinflated engineering salaries being paid by often companies that were not profitable and not only unprofitable, usually without a plan for success. In this current rush, companies cannot keep up with supply, it’s a much easier math problem when you have something that people want (tokens) and you need to figure out profitability when including R&D.
The cost to serve tokens is absolutely profitable today and that’s been true for at least a year. What’s unclear is how R&D and capex fit into the picture. I am not that pessimistic on this front either though. For the data center build outs, demand for tokens is still exceeding supply. On the R&D front, well most of us here on HN have benefited from decades of overinflated engineering salaries being paid by often companies that were not profitable and not only unprofitable, usually without a plan for success. In this current rush, companies cannot keep up with supply, it’s a much easier math problem when you have something that people want (tokens) and you need to figure out profitability when including R&D.