The AI industry is booming. In the US alone, there are a few key stats that tell the story: over $400 Billion was spent on data centers during 2025; ⅓ of the entire stock market is made up of tech companies, with much of that growth due to AI; Nvidia’s market cap alone is worth around 7% of all US publicly traded companies.
This says a few things, some good and some worrisome. The good news is, if you are in this industry and building out unique and innovative AI, the money and attention are certainly available. We see AI speculation everywhere, debating what it will do to our jobs, our education, our social life, our health, and even our lifespans. The market, and the investors behind it, believe that AI is going to change the world, and they are all in on this bet.
The worrisome part of this is twofold. There are two very different scenarios, and they are completely opposed to one another while at the same time shouting the need for us to be alert. The first scenario is that of the AI Bubble. What happens if these AI promises don’t pay off? This has become a growing topic of conversation, and there is a likely chance that some type of bubble is being caused by AI. If the promises of AI don’t materialize, the bubble burst might hit harder than anything we’ve seen in decades. Even if AI really is as good as many companies promise, there will likely be a market correction at some point.
The concern over the AI bubble is no secret, however, and it’s gaining more attention daily. The other concern around AI’s recent spike isn’t about the bubble and isn’t getting as much attention. The fact is, the majority of AI development is happening with a shockingly small number of companies, and those companies are all moving fast due to the massive capital spent on data, data centers, talent, and partnerships. One study showed that around seven major players in the AI space hold the top performing models. Another report shows that instead of the normal consolidation of mergers, AI giants are side-stepping the government approval for mergers (a key part of protecting against monopolies) not by purchasing key competitors, but by investing in them. There has been a strange “round robin” style of investing around these companies, which is part of the bubble’s growth but also allows a concerning consolidation of power.
Of these two concerns, it’s the issue of consolidated power that might be more troubling. If AI delivers as promised, the bubble might shrink a bit but it won’t ruin the economy. However, if AI is massively successful, it means that a world-changing power will be in the hands of a few tech giants—some of the same companies that have been accused of violating privacy, manipulating feeds and ads, and selling data to unscrupulous brokers. The question becomes, is it too late to do something about this?
To compete with the tech giants, the vast majority of developers, startups, and small companies have to get creative. The average small company can’t compete on capital spent for massive data centers. Like any good underdog story, the underdogs need to work together and build up a community large enough to face the bully in a way that leverages its strengths.
How can these scattered communities work together? Well, it turns out that as the AI industry has been booming, the Web3 industry has been growing and maturing as well. While the Bitcoin price might spike and drop, there is a strong foundation being built for the Web3 community. The theme of competing through decentralized networks is becoming more and more prevalent today as corporate consolidation affects many different industries. Now all that is left to do is build up an infrastructure that supports people from all over the world working together, partnering resources and ideas in a trustless way, and allowing methods for the best ideas to quickly rise to the top.
This challenge is easier said than done. However, a number of groups have been working on the problem for years and have shared a passion for a global free market in AI. The most advanced organization for this vision is likely the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance, made of Fetch.ai, SingularityNET, CUDOS, and other Alliance members. While the alliance isn’t ready to take on the tech monoliths just yet, they might be closer than you realize.
A recent post announced the Alpha test for ASI:Create, which will be the front-facing interface of the larger ASI ecosystem. Some of the stated goals of ASI:Create are to build up a space for AI teams to develop their AI agents and solutions with user-friendly tools that follow process flows and have a GUI-type interface. More than just the development, however, is the community. Teams will be able to display their project and its purpose, but even better, request collaboration from the community itself. These types of connections are critical for building effective AI solutions, especially with AI bots that must have access to many data sources and other bots that are motivated to interact. The ASI:Create alpha will be the first test of its kind, and can hopefully provide a blueprint to all decentralized AI projects that have similar aims.
The biggest advantage for decentralized AI is the sheer scalability. With the right infrastructure in place, decentralized AI ecosystems can explode overnight around the globe, gaining the talent, data, and processing power to rival even the largest tech giants. Moreover, completely different decentralized platforms can collaborate as well, creating a next level of communities where the incentive isn’t to compete, but to cooperate.
The AI bubble may expand and burst, or not. There are a growing number of indicators that even if AI is over-hyped, there is still enough potential to change every aspect of our lives. This means that we are at risk of that influence being in the hands of a few giant players, as well as the dystopian implications that brings. With ASI:Create, and others like it, showing early success in their evolution, there is hope that AI can be owned by everyone, and that the power it holds can be spread more evenly across the globe. Here’s hoping that decentralized AI keeps pushing forward, and giving these tech giants a run for their money.