Vinod Khosla is looking at this metric to gauge if we're in an AI bubble (www.businessinsider.com)

Vinod Khosla, the prominent venture capitalist, has put forth an unconventional metric to assess the health of the AI industry: the volume of API calls, rather than stock prices or market sentiment. In a recent podcast episode with OpenAI, Khosla emphasized that stock market fluctuations are driven by investor emotions like fear and greed, which can distort the real state of the AI sector. By focusing on API calls—requests made by software applications to access data or execute functions—Khosla believes he can better gauge genuine demand and utility in AI technology. He likened this approach to his earlier evaluations of internet traffic during the dot-com bubble. The significance of this perspective comes amidst increasing concerns about a potential AI bubble, as highlighted by notable figures like Bill Gates and Michael Burry, who caution about overvaluation and inefficient resource allocation in the industry. In contrast, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang argues that AI signals a transformative shift in computing rather than mere speculation. As the discourse around AI investments heats up, Khosla's focus on API calls may provide a more grounded view of the industry's trajectory, distinguishing real technological advancement from market hype.