Chi-Hua Chien, a VC with over twenty years under his belt, called Facebook's rise. Now he's dropping another bombshell prediction: the real winners of the AI era won't be the companies selling artificial intelligence. It'll be the ones using it to build real value in their own industries.
This reading completely flips strategic priorities. So, it's no longer about picking the best language model or the priciest platform. It's about figuring out where AI can slash operating costs, speed up sales cycles, or boost the customer experience. Plus, Italian SMEs — often left out of the tech convo — find themselves in a surprisingly sweet spot: they can jump on tools that are already mature without having to pay for the R&D costs that weigh down the big players.
In this article, we at SHM Studio let's analyze Chien's thesis, read it through the available data, and turn the implications into actionable steps for Italian B2B and retail companies that want to position themselves right for the next competitive cycle.
The thesis that overturns the mainstream AI narrative
For months, the public debate on artificial intelligence has revolved around a specific axis: whoever builds the best models will win the market. OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind—the narrative rewards those who produce technology. However, Chi-Hua Chien offers a radically different perspective.
Chien is a venture capitalist with over twenty years of career. He spotted Facebook's potential before it became a global phenomenon. Today, in an interview published on TechCrunch , he argues that the real winners of the AI era won't sell artificial intelligence. They'll use it to create value in their own vertical industries.
This isn't just wordplay; it's a real strategy. So, it's worth a close look—especially for Italian SMEs trying to figure out where to put their money over the next 18 to 24 months.
The numbers that scale down the AI vendor hype
The AI model market is concentrated in a few hands. According to estimates by Gartner , the race between foundation models is turning into a commodity war pretty fast. Margins are shrinking, and training costs are still through the roof.
In fact, the paradox is already visible: companies selling AI as their main product are struggling to monetize sustainably. Conversely, businesses like Klarna or Duolingo—which use AI to optimize internal processes—have recorded measurable efficiency gains that they can share with investors.
Furthermore, an analysis by Harvard Business Review it confirms that the value of AI is all about vertical apps, not generic models. This is key to figuring out where the competitive edge is heading in the next few years.
Strategic reading: the second-mover advantage
Chien's thesis has a consequence that's often overlooked. Companies that haven't invested in AI R&D over the past three years aren't behind. They're actually in a selectively advantageous spot.
They can access tools that are already mature, tested, and declining in adoption costs. As a result, the opportunity cost of waiting has dropped drastically. What required a team of data scientists in 2023 can now be set up in just a few weeks using no-code or low-code tools.
Therefore, the right question isn't
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