tech
December 4, 2025
Anthropic CEO weighs in on AI bubble talk and risk-taking among competitors
Anthropic's CEO shared his thoughts on the economics of AI and the risk-taking of competitors, saying some were "YOLO-ing" with regard to spending.
TL;DR
- Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei addressed the AI industry's economic bubble concerns at The New York Times DealBook Summit.
- Amodei declined a simple yes-or-no answer, explaining the complex economics and risks involved.
- He cautioned against companies making "timing errors" or taking "unwise risks" due to uncertain economic payoffs.
- Amodei referenced China as an authoritarian adversary and the need for companies to take risks to compete.
- The uncertainty lies in mapping AI's economic value growth to data center build times.
- Some players are described as "YOLO-ing," taking excessive risks, which concerns Amodei.
- AI chip depreciation timelines are a factor, where newer, faster, and cheaper chips can reduce the value of older ones.
- Anthropic is making conservative assumptions for planning.
- Anthropic's revenue grew 10x annually for three years, reaching $100 million in 2023 and projected to hit $8-10 billion in 2024.
- Amodei stated it would be "dumb" to assume this growth pattern will continue.
- AI companies face dilemmas in planning compute needs and data center investments to avoid over or under-buying.
- Amodei alluded to OpenAI's recent PR crisis regarding CFO's comments on government backstopping infrastructure loans.
- He warned those who "YOLO" or "like big numbers" could overextend themselves, referencing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
- Amodei expressed confidence in Anthropic's ability to manage risks across various scenarios.
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