AI Anxiety and Political Spats Hang Over Silicon Valley

There was a palpable sense of trepidation in the air in San Francisco and on Sand Hill Road during my latest visit last week.

Venture capitalists are increasingly stressed by the frenetic pace of artificial intelligence deals, which they say resembles the frenzied check-writing of 2021. They are also growing more concerned about the lack of "moats"—unique competitive advantages—that AI startups possess, as well as the poor quality of their revenue, which investors say is often not sticky or predictable, if it exists at all.