Top economist warns that the AI math doesn’t make sense: ‘Profits are currently being funded by investors rather than earned from customers’

Economist Torsten Slok warns that AI profits are currently funded by investors rather than earned from customers, citing a lopsided profit margin structure within the value chain. While silicon and equipment maintain high margins (41%), models and applications report negative operating margins (-59%). Slok warned that if financing slows, this disparity threatens the stability of the expanding industry.