Skip to content
K = 0.731

Ethan Mollick Challenges “Picks and Shovels” Advice for AI Startups

2 reports 1 reporting sources 2 hours agoNew

Understand the event

AI overview

Ethan Mollick challenged the advice that AI startups should “sell picks and shovels,” arguing that the Industrial Revolution offers a better analogy than the Gold Rush for thinking about AI businesses. In a post on X, Mollick contrasted gold, which he described as a finite resource, with machines that keep making goods cheaper. He argued that far more people became rich by using the new machines than by building them, making his case for startups that apply AI rather than supply its tools.

Generated by AI from reports · Updated 1 hours ago

Latest development10/30 00:32 (UTC+8)
I think “sell picks and shovels” is the wrong lesson for AI startups. The Gold Rush analogy is weaker than the Industrial Revolution. Gold is a single pile that runs out. Machines keep making everything cheaper. Far more people got rich using the new machines than building them.Ethan Mollick · X

Read next

More changes in today’s briefingGoogle DeepMind announces Gemini 4 Carbon with cybersecurity and long-horizon capabilities

Report timeline

Follow the reports to explore different sides of the event.

10/30
  1. Ethan Mollick · X
    I think “sell picks and shovels” is the wrong lesson for AI startups. The Gold Rush analogy is weaker than the Industrial Revolution. Gold is a single pile that runs out. Machines keep making everything cheaper. Far more people got rich using the new machines than building them.

    I think “sell picks and shovels” is the wrong lesson for AI startups. The Gold Rush analogy is weaker than the Industrial Revolution. Gold is a single pile that runs out. Machines keep making everything cheaper. Far more people got rich using the new machines than building them.

  2. Ethan Mollick · X
    I think“sell picks and shovels” is the wrong lesson for AI startups. The Gold Rush analogy is weaker than the Industrial Revolution. Gold is a single pile that runs out. Machines keep making everything cheaper. Far more people got rich using the new machines than building them.

    I think“sell picks and shovels” is the wrong lesson for AI startups. The Gold Rush analogy is weaker than the Industrial Revolution. Gold is a single pile that runs out. Machines keep making everything cheaper. Far more people got rich using the new machines than building them.

Keep up with AI, one email a day

Model releases, price changes and compute developments, with original sources. Free, confirmed by email, and easy to unsubscribe. Read a past issue

Event heat trend

There is not enough continuous observation data to plot a trend yet.