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The AI Stack & Economics

What AI runs on: infrastructure bets, cost curves, chokepoints, and the physical layer.

A guided path

Start here, then go deeper

Three selected reads, ordered from foundation to practical application.

01 Start here
The Physical World Underneath AI
Article Stack & Economics 5 min read

The Physical World Underneath AI

$1.5 trillion in AI capital assumes four physical things keep working: energy, chips, submarine cables, raw materials. Three are under stress now.

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  1. 02 Go deeper Stack & Economics 4 min read

    The $700 Billion Foundation Under Your AI Strategy

    The four largest cloud providers are investing $700 billion in AI infrastructure in 2026. For every company on the cloud, these numbers set the floor.

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  2. 03 Go deeper Stack & Economics 5 min read

    Google's TurboQuant: When Software Rewrites the AI Cost Equation

    Google showed AI models can run on one-sixth the memory they need. Independent engineers confirmed it. Here is what it means for your AI budget.

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Latest in this topic

The newest decisions beyond the guided path.

A cloud floats above a wooden desk, while a long paper receipt runs out from under an open laptop and hangs over the desk's front edge.
Article Stack & Economics 5 min read

The AI Price in Your Budget Is Really Two Prices

Anthropic cut its small model's token price 90% for prompts up to 100,000 tokens, while AI servers keep memory tight. Three checks for the 2027 budget.

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An empty office chair with armrests and wheels stands beside a tall wooden pole. A round electricity meter is mounted on the pole, its row of digits all zeros.
Article Stack & Economics 10 min read

Check What Your AI Contract Counts

Microsoft, Salesforce and Anthropic each meter AI differently. Four checks to run on every AI contract before it renews.

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A lone figure stands in a vast hall of towering machinery, facing a small glowing screen on a pedestal while a large crowd gathers on either side.
Article Strategy & ROI 5 min read

Tables, Not Language

SAP bet over 1 billion euros on AI that does not chat. Why tabular foundation models matter for CEOs, and the first move to make.

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An open metal chest packed with stacks of books sits on a stone plinth, with a chain running from its handle to the floor.
Article Stack & Economics 6 min read

Who Owns the Learning Loop?

Nadella named the asset: token capital. Owning it means keeping your data and definitions portable while you rent the model. Here is the three-layer test.

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A balance scale tips toward one pan heaped with coins, while the raised pan on the other side holds only a few flat coins.
Article Stack & Economics 5 min read

When AI Capability Tier Becomes a Balance-Sheet Line

Anthropic's Project Deal showed better AI agents capture $3.64 more per transaction. The cohort running the cheaper one never noticed.

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The AI Commerce Shift: When Your Platform Vendor Decides for You
Article Stack & Economics 4 min read

The AI Commerce Shift: When Your Platform Vendor Decides for You

Shopify activated AI storefronts for millions of merchants without asking. Amazon and Google are next. Here is how to audit your own vendor stack.

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$14 Billion in 60 Days: The Physical AI Signal
Article Stack & Economics 5 min read

$14 Billion in 60 Days: The Physical AI Signal

$14 billion in robotics and physical AI venture capital in 60 days, matching all of 2025. The biggest raises are not hardware leaders. They are data companies.

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