Intel’s ex-CEO Pat Gelsinger has warned the world about AI overspending; says “the AI boom won’t last forever.”

pat gelsinger

Former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has cautioned that the ongoing surge in artificial intelligence (AI) investment might be unsustainable, comparing the current boom to the early days of the internet bubble. In a recent conversation with The Business of Platforms Network, Gelsinger said, “The AI boom won’t last forever,” reminding investors that periods of rapid technological expansion often come with risks of overvaluation and unrealistic expectations.

Gelsinger, who was recently removed from his position as Intel’s chief executive, reflected on historical parallels between today’s AI rush and the late 1990s internet craze. “We’ve seen this before,” he said. “Look at all the optical companies in the early days of the internet. Everything was up and to the right… exponential growth for unlimited periods of time.” He added that while the internet era produced major innovation, the assumption of endless growth proved false.

The remarks come at a time when leading technology companies, including Microsoft, Google, Nvidia, and Amazon, are committing billions of dollars toward AI data centers, chips, and infrastructure. Industry analysts estimate global AI-related spending could exceed $200 billion annually by 2026. However, Gelsinger and several other industry veterans, such as OpenAI’s Sam Altman and JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon, have voiced concern that the market may be overheating.

Despite his warning, Gelsinger remains confident about AI’s transformative long-term potential. He predicted that by the end of the decade, AI efficiency, inference costs, and power consumption would improve significantly, allowing for broader global deployment. “Some of these transformational technologies will be at scale,” he said, noting that the real shift will come once speculative investment transitions into sustainable innovation.

Gelsinger’s comments echo a growing sentiment within the tech industry that while AI is poised to reshape industries, its current financial trajectory may need recalibration to avoid repeating the lessons of the dot-com era.