Asit Sharma

Emily, I think it reflects a societal learning curve.

I'd argue that most people and most investors are much more knowledgeable about the components of AI, machine learning, and generative AI versus a few years ago.

I guess that's obvious.

To evaluate businesses in this space, I've noticed that

Most of us have acquired a vocabulary we didn't have in, say, 2022.

We're familiar with terms like GPUs, LLMs, inference, tokens, etc.

I think investors have this broad enough understanding to evaluate what type of bubble we're in.

We should spot the average investor some credit here.

I think the decision to be invested or to stay invested has more reasoning and rationale behind it than previous bubbles that come to mind.

Along these lines, the mania aspect of this bubble appears comparatively smaller to me against historical bubbles.

I'm thinking about, let's say, the dot-com bubble in 1999, go all the way back to the tulip mania in the 18th century, 17th century in Holland.

That doesn't mean that this bubble isn't going to pop or at least deflate a bit.

But investors seem to me like they're in this mode of evaluating the risks, the trade-offs, and they're more willing to demarcate their personal lines that go between investing and speculating.

Alright, here's this paradoxical question, which you hinted at, Emily.

This gets to the surprising results of our survey.

If you understand that we could be in a bubble, and you already have exposure to the upside potential of AI, and you understand that the market has appreciated for three straight years with a cumulative return of 78%, and you know that the S&P 500, which is driven by big tech, currently sits at all-time highs,

Why would you be planning to add to your AI positions in 2026?"

To me, I think it says, number one, you've got an inherent belief that this technology is tied to the creation of value in the global economy, i.e., you believe it's for real.

And number two, you think that some companies are going to continue to realize appreciable cash flows from selling either the development or the output of this technology.

And you're also researching new opportunities.