AI’s Focus Shifts From Breakthroughs to Business Models

[kevin1]

In 2025, AI’s magic felt less transformative and more incremental. New releases like GPT-5 and Gemini 3 impressed on benchmarks but lacked the shock value of earlier leaps. DeepSeek’s low-cost reasoning model further reset expectations, proving frontier models no longer require unlimited budgets.

As a result, the industry’s battle has moved from model capability to monetization and distribution. Companies are racing to own users, platforms, and workflows — not just intelligence. At the same time, mounting lawsuits, safety concerns, and mental-health scrutiny are forcing AI labs to confront trust, regulation, and real economic value. The hype remains — but the free pass is over.