AI race is nowhere close to being over, says Big Technology's Alex Kantrowitz

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  January 22, 2026 at 18:50  |  3:47  |  CNBC
Speakers
Alex Kantrowitz — Founder of Big Technology

Summary

Alex Kantrowitz, founder of Big Technology, discusses the AI race and competition between OpenAI and Google. He rejects the idea that OpenAI is doomed, citing its large user base, product leadership, and productization skills. He also highlights Google's distribution advantage through Gmail and Search, and notes Gemini's rapid market share gains.

  • Alex Kantrowitz says the AI race is nowhere close to being over.
  • He argues OpenAI has 800 million weekly active users and a proven product lead.
  • He notes negative sentiment around OpenAI, including a debate over whether it will run out of money.
  • He highlights Google's distribution advantage via Gmail and Search to push generative AI.
  • He says Gemini is rapidly gaining market share at OpenAI's expense.
  • He believes OpenAI's lack of legacy business and ground-up product approach are advantages.
  • He expects a fierce competitive fight among major tech companies.
Ideas
Alex Kantrowitz Founder of Big Technology 0:53
AI race is far from over.
The AI race is nowhere close to being over. Despite negative sentiment and obituaries for OpenAI, the company has 800 million weekly active users, leading models, and a proven ability to get ahead on product, including the first LLM-powered chatbot, image and video generation, and an AI device. Google and others will have good models, but success depends on productization, where OpenAI has been best. The competitive intensity and ongoing innovation suggest the AI trade remains intact.
AI-SECTOR HIGH
Alex Kantrowitz Founder of Big Technology 2:31
Google distribution advantage boosts AI adoption.
Google has a distribution advantage through Gmail and Google Search that lets it push generative AI through existing products and build users, so its user numbers will look healthy. Gemini is rapidly gaining market share at OpenAI's expense. Even though OpenAI imagines products from the ground up, Google's distribution is a durable edge.
GOOG HIGH
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This CNBC video, published January 22, 2026, features Alex Kantrowitz discussing AI-SECTOR, GOOG. 2 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Alex Kantrowitz  · Tickers: AI-SECTOR, GOOG