Wall Street isn’t worried about an AI bubble. Sam Altman is.

AI·OpenAIWall Street isn’t worried an AI bubble

Sam Altman is.By Beatrice NolanBy Beatrice NolanReporterBeatrice NolanReporterBeatrice Nolan is a reporter at Fortune covering

Beatrice previously worked as a reporter at Insider, covering stories AI and Big

She's based in Fortune's London office and graduated from the University of York with a bachelor's degree in English.SEE FULL BIO Wall Street analysts are confident the artificial intelligence boom still has room to run

Wall Street is feeling confident the AI boom, even as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman cautions that some investors could be “burnt” amid soaring valuations

Major firms, including Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta, continue to increase capital spending to meet growing AI demand, but analysts Wedbush’s Dan Ives and Treasury Partners’ Richard Saperstein emphasize the long-term potential

Wall Street analysts are confident the artificial intelligence boom still has room to run

Even if Sam Altman, the OpenAI chief executive at the center of it all, appears less confident

Speaking to reporters over dinner late last week, Altman drew a parallel between today’s AI frenzy and the 1990s dot-com bubble, when internet company valuations spiked dramatically before crashing. “When bubbles happen, smart people get overexcited a kernel of truth,” Altman said, in s reported by The Verge. “If you look at most of the bubbles in history, the bubble, there was a real thing. was really important

The internet was a really big deal

People got overexcited.” He noted some startup valuations for companies raising hundreds of millions of dollars with only a staff of three were “insane.” “Are we in a phase where investors as a whole are overexcited AI? My opinion is yes,” he said. “Is AI the most important thing to happen in a very long time? My opinion is also yes.” Altman warned that some investors are ly to get “very burnt” as some of the hype unwinds, but maintained that the long-term value created by artificial intelligence will outweigh short-term losses

He also repeated the word “bubble” three times in 15 seconds, joking that the s were ly to become a headline

Wedbush’s Dan Ives, however, was undeterred by Altman’s slightly tepid tone

He told Fortune that the “AI Revolution will fuel a bull market for the next 2-3 years at least.” “This is trillions being spent in the buildout of this 4th Industrial Revolution

There could be forth in certain areas of the private market for AI vendors, but ultimately, we do not see this as a bubble

This is a 1996 Moment with a lot more room to go, not a 1999 Moment in our view,” he said in an

Richard Saperstein, chief investment officer at Treasury Partners, also shrugged off concerns, noting that large-cap nology stocks remain the market’s driving force

In a Monday note reported by Barron’s, he wrote that big companies “have led the market higher and will continue to dominate market performance,” citing expectations for continued earnings growth, strong reinvestment of cash flows, and the expansion of their global reach

Saperstein advised investors to remain fully invested in U.S. equities, with a particular focus on large-cap nology names

He pointed to structural tailwinds, including deregulation, onshoring, and favorable treatment of capital expenditures, that he believes will support both corporate performance and broader economic growth in the years ahead

No sign of a spending slowdown Investors have had a reason to cheer in recent weeks, as major companies reported earnings that exceeded expectations

Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta all posted strong growth and showed no signs of pulling back on AI

The largest nology companies, including Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta, have all increased their capital expenditure forecasts to meet rising demand for artificial intelligence

Altman’s OpenAI is no different. “You should expect OpenAI to spend trillions of dollars on datacenter construction in the not very distant future,” Altman said, in s reported by The Verge. “And you should expect a bunch of economists wringing their hands, saying, ‘This is so crazy, it’s so reckless,’ and we’ll just be , ‘You know what? Let us do our thing.’” As AI spending soars, there has been simmering concern that investment in AI may be outpacing sustainable growth

Industry figures, including Alibaba co-founder Joe Tsai and Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio, have all voiced concerns the trend

But some people are confusing that with the investments being successful,” Dalio told The Financial Times

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