“My guess is that if important use cases don't start to become more apparent in the next 12-18 months, investor enthusiasm may begin to fade... The more time that passes without significant AI applications, the more challenging the AI story will become.”

Eighteen months on, investor enthusiasm had intensified rather than faded: hyperscaler capex guidance for 2026 rose toward $600-700 billion, Nvidia's valuation kept climbing and AI-linked indices hit records into early 2026. Bubble skepticism grew louder in late 2025, but the pullback in enthusiasm Covello flagged did not materialize by his 12-18 month window.