By Kenneth Rogoff
Publication Date: 2026-06-02 12:27:00
TThe San Francisco Bay Area is in the midst of an AI frenzy that makes the mid-19th century California Gold Rush look like a scavenger hunt. Top programmers and developers are being offered compensation packages worth hundreds of millions of dollars if they switch companies, while young engineers who were lucky enough to get into leading AI startups early are considering retiring before they turn 35.
As you drive up the Bayshore Freeway from San Francisco International Airport into the city, you’ll pass hyper-specific billboards promoting obscure AI applications seemingly aimed at absurdly niche audiences. How can this possibly be profitable? The answer is: In a city teeming with startups, pitching the right software product to a founder whose company could soon be worth billions of dollars is far more lucrative than using advertising space to sell burgers or laundry detergent.
But behind the excitement lies a palpable fear, as members of this young super elite fear that their startups…