For the past few years, the AI race has been about one thing: more.

More GPUs. More data centers. More power. More capital. But that strategy only works if the returns continue to justify the spending.

I'm starting to wonder if the next phase of AI won't be won by the company with the biggest model, but by the company that delivers the most useful intelligence per dollar.

We've already seen this pattern in computing before. Raw performance eventually gives way to efficiency, optimization, and economics.

So if AI becomes a utility like electricity or cloud computing, will cost per useful inference become the metric that matters most?