The Paradox

$37 billion invested in generative AI in 2025 alone. A 3.2x increase from the year before [1]. And yet — 95% of businesses have yet to see measurable ROI from their AI investments [2]. 42% of companies abandoned their generative AI initiatives entirely [3].

How is this possible? How can an industry attract this much capital while delivering this little return? I’ve been tracking this disconnect for a while — the “disappointment gap” between AI hype and actual outcomes is real, and it keeps widening.