Source: Axios
The AI industry has compressed its product cycle to months rather than years. Competitive advantage is now temporary. This forces every lab—OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta—into perpetual competition where missing a single release window or capability benchmark can erase market leadership. Sustainability and profitability are now the actual competitive problems, not just raw capability. Smaller players face consolidation pressure. R&D costs are mounting, and only well-capitalized incumbents can sustain them. The AI race is becoming an endurance test.