“Back then, it was communication that was being built. Today, we're building intelligence. And the economic value of intelligence is probably higher than the economic value of communication.”
a16z Podcast · Startups & Venture · November 2026
Context
His co-host had noted that AI infrastructure is now about 2% of GDP, against a small fraction of a percent for the internet buildout. Volpi says the scale makes sense because the thing being built is worth more.
Transcript
Yeah. Some of them better than others, but broadly, I expect that there will be an economic correction in the market, but the underlying assets will be quite useful for a long period of time.
Isn't that one other big difference from how it was back then, which is that everything is now much, much larger? I mean, back then, we were investing a small fraction of a percent in infrastructure for the internet. Today, we're investing 2% or so for GDP, right, in AI infrastructure.
Yeah. Well, it is much bigger, but it's an interesting concept, right? Because in the 100,000 feet abstraction, what is it that is being built, right? Back then, it was communication that was being built. Today, we're building intelligence. And the economic value of intelligence is probably higher than the economic value of communication.
Probably. Yep.
Right. So I think it's unsurprising. I also think that, believe it or not, I mean, it's been nearly 30 years. The markets are more efficient now, right? Which is why so much more risk capital is willing to make its way into AI, which even back then was not able to. So that is, I'm actually more…
The role of IT has also massively increased, right? Back then, I mean, in the late 90s, PCs were somewhat common, but not ubiquitous. Today, so to speak, software has eaten the world. And it's sort of for any company out there, it's a very central part of what they do when distribution
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