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The AI Gold Rush: Why Most ‘Revolutionary’ Business Models Are Doomed to Fail

Alex M. Pawlowski
Bootcamp
Published in
7 min readJan 3, 2025

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“In a time of drastic change, it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves beautifully equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.” — Eric Hoffer

The artificial intelligence (AI) industry is buzzing with innovative business models claiming to revolutionize everything from startups to global enterprises. Yet, beneath the glossy presentations and ambitious claims lies a sobering truth: many of these ideas, while visionary, may be fundamentally flawed (yes, we don’t need to add an “.ai” to everything).

1. AI-Driven Startups: The Subscription Delusion

AI startups are increasingly adopting subscription-based models, often offering tiered services to cater to different customer needs. For example, basic plans might include minimal AI functionality, while premium tiers provide access to advanced features like natural language processing or predictive analytics.

Why It Sounds Good: Recurring revenue streams create financial predictability for companies.
Reality Check:

  • Customer Churn: Data from SaaS companies indicates an average annual churn rate of 30%. AI startups face an even steeper challenge, as 60% of users report…

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Bootcamp
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Published in Bootcamp

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Alex M. Pawlowski
Alex M. Pawlowski

Written by Alex M. Pawlowski

Writing about tech, innovation and the future - one article at a time. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexmichaelpawlowski/

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