Today’s top line: An Apollo economist says AI has not boosted profits outside a few tech giants, while TechCrunch documents a growing ‘AI graveyard’ of failed projects and shutdowns – a reminder that AI investments still carry high execution risk.
Apollo economist says AI delivers “zero financial payoff” to non-tech firms
Summary: Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo Global Management, published a note arguing that AI has delivered “zero financial payoff” to corporate America outside of big tech. He examined the “S&P 493” – the S&P 500 excluding Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla – and found profit margins and revenue per worker appear flat despite massive AI investments and hype.
Digest: If accurate, this suggests AI-driven gains are concentrated in a handful of tech firms, and many non-tech companies may struggle to convert AI spending into revenue or margin improvements. Watch whether future productivity studies confirm Slok’s finding and how investors respond.
Source: TechCrunch
TechCrunch compiles an “AI graveyard” of failed projects and startups
Summary: TechCrunch published a running list of AI products, projects and startups that shut down, were abandoned, or failed to scale. Examples include Relay shutting down in August, chatbot platform Character.ai filing for bankruptcy, OpenAI discontinuing standalone apps such as ChatGPT Atlas on August 9 and Sora in March 2026, plus an S&P Global Market Intelligence finding that about 42% of corporate AI initiatives are ultimately abandoned.
Digest: The compilation highlights a high failure rate and the difficulty of turning AI experiments into sustainable products, emphasising the execution and market risks companies face when investing in AI.
Source: TechCrunch
Quick hits
- AI wearables roundup: $49 Bee pendant, $129 “Friend”, and more – TechCrunch details new low-cost AI pendants and pocket devices, including Bee at $49.99 with a $19/month app, Amazon’s new Bee Frontier ($74.99) and Bee Eclipse ($99.99), Friend at $129, Limitless at $99 with an optional $29/month unlimited plan, and Meta’s unreleased AI wearable (TechCrunch).