As multibillion-dollar AI investments continue to surge, global leaders—from tech CEOs to central bankers—are increasingly split on whether the world is entering a full-blown AI bubble. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai warned this week that “no company will be immune” if the boom collapses, echoing rising concerns that today’s excitement resembles the irrational exuberance of the dotcom era.
Concerns rise as spending skyrockets
Investors are watching closely for signs that demand is fading or that massive AI spending is failing to deliver returns. Several top industry leaders offered their takes:
Morten Wierod, CEO of ABB, told Reuters he sees no bubble yet—but highlighted a different bottleneck:
“We are talking about trillions in investment … There are not enough people and resources to build all this.”
Sundar Pichai acknowledged “elements of irrationality,” warning even Google would not escape the impact of a burst.
Jeff Bezos cautioned that during periods of extreme excitement, “every experiment gets funded,” making it difficult to separate strong ideas from weak ones.
Central banks and sovereign funds sound the alarm
The Bank of England delivered one of the sharpest warnings:
“The risk of a sharp market correction has increased,”
highlighting the possibility of AI-driven volatility spilling into the financial system.
Bryan Yeo, CIO of Singapore’s GIC, noted early-stage AI valuations have reached bubble-like levels:
“Any startup with an AI label is valued at huge multiples.”
Economists: Boom is real — but winners are unclear
Not everyone believes the sector is overheating.
Goldman Sachs economist Joseph Briggs argued the spending boom is sustainable, though he cautioned that rapid technological shifts could make it difficult to identify long-term winners.
IMF Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas agreed the boom could end in a dotcom-style bust—but stressed the risks are lower because today’s investments are not debt-financed:
“Some shareholders will lose out, but it is unlikely to be systemic.”
Tech leaders & investors: high conviction, high risk
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, said investor euphoria is real:
“Someone is going to lose a phenomenal amount of money… and a lot of people are going to make a phenomenal amount of money.”
Michael Burry, famed for “The Big Short,” has taken bearish positions on Nvidia and Palantir, and publicly warned that AI spending is inflating a dangerous bubble.
Investors remain invested—even if they believe it’s a bubble
A UBS survey captured the paradox best:
“Most felt we were in an AI bubble… but around 90% are still invested in AI-related areas.”
Despite warnings, investors continue to pour money into AI—balancing fear of a bubble with fear of missing out on a technological revolution.