America’s economy is basically one big AI startup now

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The US economy might be running on fumes, or, more accurately, on GPUs. 

According to Ruchir Sharma, a former Morgan Stanley investor turned global fund manager, America’s financial health now depends almost entirely on artificial intelligence. 

In a spicy op-ed for the Financial Times, Sharma argues that the US economy has “become one big bet on AI.” And judging by the numbers, he’s not wrong. (Via: Futurism)

AI spending now makes up a jaw-dropping 40 percent of US GDP growth in 2025, Sharma says, while AI companies account for about 80 percent of all stock market growth. 

The country’s economic pulse is being kept alive by tech bros and server farms. Without them, the numbers would look downright grim.

Outside the glowing halo of AI optimism, things are looking rough: utility bills are up, imported goods cost more than ever, and job growth is flatter than a Midwestern highway. 

Yet somehow, Wall Street is booming, because investors worldwide are shoveling cash into American AI projects faster than ChatGPT can write a press release.

Of course, that money isn’t exactly trickling down. 

Sharma points out that consumption, traditionally the backbone of the US economy, is now largely powered by the richest ten percent of Americans, who are responsible for a record 50 percent of all consumer spending. 

So while the top tier is buying Teslas and training AI models, everyone else is just trying to afford groceries.

Meanwhile, immigration challenges are hurting productivity, home foreclosures are rising, and government debt is ballooning. 

But you wouldn’t know it from the rosy headlines, because the magic letters “A” and “I” are keeping the vibes high and the market numbers higher.

Sharma’s final warning is simple: AI better deliver. The US economy is riding high on the promise that machine learning will supercharge productivity. 

If it doesn’t, the great American AI boom might just turn into the next great American bust.