Former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger says AI is a bubble that won't pop for 'several years' (www.businessinsider.com)

Former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger told CNBC that AI is clearly in a bubble — but one that won’t pop for “several years.” He argued the market is driven by hype and heavy leverage into AI infrastructure, yet enterprises have “yet to really start materially benefiting” from their AI investments. Gelsinger, who left Intel in December 2024 and is now a general partner at Playground Global, framed the situation against Intel’s own struggles in the AI chip race and a decade-and-a-half of poor decisions that left the company late to AI hardware. The remark matters because it’s a caution from a veteran chip executive at the center of hardware-driven AI economics: massive capex on chips, data centers and models may not deliver near-term ROI, even as valuations and investor enthusiasm surge. His view echoes concerns from figures like Sam Altman and Alibaba cofounder Joe Tsai, though Nvidia’s Jensen Huang disputes dot‑com parallels. Practically, a multi-year bubble implies continued funding, hiring and infrastructure expansion — but also heightened risk of misallocated capital, inflated startup valuations, and a future market correction once real-world productivity gains and monetization lag behind expectations.