Executive summary: The post argues that big tech firms like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Amazon are acquiring many AI startups, which reduces competition and innovation in the long run.
Key points:
Since 2010, big tech firms have acquired dozens of AI startups, creating “kill zones” that make it unprofitable to invest in new AI companies.
This startup acquisition trend peaked around 2018 and has declined since then, indicating dampened innovation and investment.
Though mergers and acquisitions have short-term benefits, long-term they reduce competition and profits for new entrants.
Big tech’s large P/E ratios show markets expect huge future profits from AI, despite little revenue so far.
Regulators should scrutinize these acquisitions more and make big tech prove they won’t harm competition.
Big tech partnerships and partial ownership of top AI firms like OpenAI and Anthropic also reduce competition.
Allowing AI startups to grow independently could have created more competition and billionaire founders.
Common ownership by institutional investors in big tech firms mitigates pressures to reduce “moonshot” R&D spending.
However, it also reduces competition and innovation compared to independent AI firms.
Given national security issues, regulators should investigate implications of foreign ownership for firms like Arm.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, andcontact us if you have feedback.
Executive summary: The post argues that big tech firms like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Amazon are acquiring many AI startups, which reduces competition and innovation in the long run.
Key points:
Since 2010, big tech firms have acquired dozens of AI startups, creating “kill zones” that make it unprofitable to invest in new AI companies.
This startup acquisition trend peaked around 2018 and has declined since then, indicating dampened innovation and investment.
Though mergers and acquisitions have short-term benefits, long-term they reduce competition and profits for new entrants.
Big tech’s large P/E ratios show markets expect huge future profits from AI, despite little revenue so far.
Regulators should scrutinize these acquisitions more and make big tech prove they won’t harm competition.
Big tech partnerships and partial ownership of top AI firms like OpenAI and Anthropic also reduce competition.
Allowing AI startups to grow independently could have created more competition and billionaire founders.
Common ownership by institutional investors in big tech firms mitigates pressures to reduce “moonshot” R&D spending.
However, it also reduces competition and innovation compared to independent AI firms.
Given national security issues, regulators should investigate implications of foreign ownership for firms like Arm.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.