# What Altman meant by the AI bubble comparison

> A firsthand August 2025 interview separated enthusiasm for AI technology from enthusiasm about investment.

Source: https://fullbytedeveloper.com/blog/altman-ai-bubble-august-2025
Originally posted: 2025-08-26
Published here: 2026-11-06

In an August 2025 interview, Sam Altman said investors were overexcited about AI while also describing the technology as important. Alex Heath reported the conversation after attending a dinner with Altman and other reporters in San Francisco [1].

Altman compared that combination with the earlier technology bubble: genuine technological change could coexist with excessive investor enthusiasm. That was his opinion at the time, rather than a prediction with a deadline [1].

## Two questions to keep separate

Our Instagram post asked whether this was hype or history repeating. A more useful discussion separates two questions: does a product solve a real problem, and what price should investors place on the company making it?

For developers, the first question can be tested directly. Choose a task, inspect the output and measure the effort needed to correct it. A useful result does not settle the second question.

This is context for an August 2025 comment. It does not establish when a market correction will happen or which companies will succeed.

## Sources

1. [Alex Heath: firsthand interview with Sam Altman](https://www.theverge.com/command-line-newsletter/759897/sam-altman-chatgpt-openai-social-media-google-chrome-interview)

## Original posts

- [Instagram post](https://www.instagram.com/fullbytedeveloper/p/DN05MftWMkL/)