The AI Riff (Ep50) - The AI IPO Tsunami

AI's biggest players are racing toward historic valuations—but who ultimately pays the bill?As OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX move closer to blockbuster IPOs, the conversation shifts from innovation to economics. Will public market pressure force AI companies to raise prices, monetize through ads, or fundamentally change how businesses use AI? The team explores the growing uncertainty around token costs, whether startups can survive if AI becomes more expensive, and why today's low barriers to building AI-powered products may not last forever.From mortgage tech and enterprise adoption to open-source competition, data centers, and the future of AI infrastructure, this episode tackles one of the biggest questions facing founders, operators, and technology leaders right now: what happens when AI has to start paying for itself?