- Video player experienced slow loading - Video content failed to load - Ad froze or did not finish loading - Video content did not start after ad - Audio on ad was too loud - Other issues - Ad never loaded - Ad prevented/slowed page from loading - Content moved around while ad loaded - Ad was repetitive to previous ads - Other issues French startup Mistral AI raised €105 million ($118 million) in a recent seed round, despite not having a working product. Antoine Moyroud, a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, one of the company's biggest backers, believes that although the number may seem large, Mistral AI has global ambitions and requires significant computing power to achieve them. This deal exemplifies the fervent excitement surrounding "generative" artificial intelligence, which can create original content in response to user prompts. However, some industry insiders and investors express concerns that the current investment frenzy is forming a bubble. Many companies receiving funding lack earnings, innovative products, and the necessary expertise. Emad Mostaque, the founder and CEO of Stability AI, another generative AI firm backed by Lightspeed, predicts that the current wave of AI investments will create the biggest bubble in history, comparable to the "dot-com" bubble of the late 1990s. In the first half of 2023, venture capitalists invested $15. 2 billion in generative AI companies globally, with Microsoft's $10 billion investment in OpenAI comprising a significant portion of the sum. Even when excluding Microsoft's deal, VC investments in generative AI have increased by nearly 58% compared to the same period in 2022. The buzz surrounding generative AI was sparked by the release of ChatGPT in November, leading to more founders mentioning generative AI in their funding pitches. However, Antoine Moyroud cautions that some founders may only add a superficial layer of generative AI to their pitches, lacking substance. Mistral AI stands out from this group, as Lightspeed recognized the unparalleled experience of its three founders who previously worked on large language models at Meta (Facebook's parent company) and Google's DeepMind. Investors are not the only ones looking to benefit from the AI boom.

Investments in the top five AI-focused exchange-traded funds have increased by an average of 35% since the beginning of the year. Additionally, after a challenging 2022, tech stocks on the Nasdaq have surged by nearly 42%, outperforming the broader S&P 500 index. In May, Nvidia became the sixth company in the world to reach a market capitalization of $1 trillion, driven by its profitable microchips that power generative AI. Meanwhile, AI software company C3. ai, whose stock has soared over 240% this year, remains unprofitable. Investors draw comparisons between the current AI hype and the dot-com bubble, where many companies failed to generate revenue or profit despite high valuations. However, the long-term winners of innovative disruption are not always obvious. The late 1990s witnessed a surge in stock prices for companies simply by adding ". com" to their names, regardless of tangible results. To distinguish between genuine AI companies and those riding the hype, investors like Jordan Jacobs of Radical Ventures emphasize the importance of identifying the real players in the industry. Jacobs believes that there is an underappreciation for the future value of AI, predicting that it will be integrated into or replace all software in the next decade, representing trillions of dollars of economic value. He highlights the technology's advancements in drug development and climate change modeling. The release of ChatGPT and Microsoft's investment in OpenAI made generalist investors fully comprehend AI's extraordinary potential, allowing them to experience the technology firsthand.