The AI hype cycle will slow down. What’s next decides the winners

https://media.thenextweb.com/2026/06/ai-hype-cycle-slow-down-winners-joe-hipsky.avif

Artificial Intelligence is entering the late stage of its hype cycle.

Not a collapse. A correction.

For the past two years, AI has dominated venture capital flows, with capital pouring into the sector at unprecedented scale and startups multiplying rapidly as funding concentrates around AI-driven businesses.

What began as acceleration has now started to show the early signs of saturation. The expectations built into the market are beginning to exceed the returns being delivered.

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The hype is beginning to fade.

This is the predictable arc of every major innovation cycle. From railroads to the internet, transformative technologies move through a familiar pattern: rapid enthusiasm, inflated expectations, and an eventual resetwhere economic reality...

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