In the last 18 months, 99% of AI startups died. Over $100 billion evaporated.
The brutal truth? Most founders didn't actually build a product.
They built "wrappers." They took ChatGPT's API, slapped a slick UI on it, added a paywall, and called themselves founders.
But here is the iron law of tech: Middlemen always get eliminated.
Every time OpenAI or Google announces a new native feature, thousands of startups die in real-time. In Silicon Valley, they call this getting "Sherlocked." We literally just saw it wipe out video generators, transcription tools, and heavily-funded hardware like the Rabbit R1 and Humane AI Pin.
If your core product can be cloned in a weekend by an intern with API access... you don't have a business. You just have an expiration date.
The bubble bursting was necessary. It flushed out the tourists. The companies surviving right now aren't renting their future—they’re building deep moats and owning their digital infrastructure.
I just put together a full breakdown of this AI mass extinction event, what killed these startups, and how to survive the next wave.
Watch the full video
Let's debate: Which hyped AI startup—software or hardware—fooled you the hardest before crashing? Drop the name below!