Late night noodling, but even in the light of day this still feels right to me.
If we mapped current #AI companies to consumer tech from the 2010s: Anthropic = Apple. Focused on high quality for a smaller market. Stubborn and opinionated in annoying ways, but innovating in important ones. Sets trends. Genuine in its principles, whether or not you agree with them. 1/x
— Aaron Miller (@aaronmiller.info) February 3, 2026 at 10:59 PM
OpenAI = Google. Market-defining from the start. Now wants to be everything for everyone. Staffed by nerds who are at odds with management, and management wins. Began with noble intentions (remember "Don't be evil"?), but revenue overruled. Has a graveyard of failed public projects. 2/x
— Aaron Miller (@aaronmiller.info) February 3, 2026 at 10:59 PM
Google/DeepMind = Microsoft. Workman-like quality, only the best at one or two things. Preserving the ecosystem drives every decision. Staffed by some of the smartest people around who get slowed down by the bureaucracy. Won't lose, but won't win either. 3/x
— Aaron Miller (@aaronmiller.info) February 3, 2026 at 10:59 PM
Meta = RIM (Blackberry). Already lost but doesn't know it. Wastes money on big swings that are only affordable because of its legacy business. Corrosive leadership doesn't realize the best hope for the company is to step aside. 4/x
— Aaron Miller (@aaronmiller.info) February 3, 2026 at 10:59 PM
xAI = Samsung. Fast follower only. Plays the scrappy underdog, but really just flash over substance. Run by a corrupt, image-obsessed leader who uses government influence for profit. Has a rabid, contrarian fanbase, mixed with people who don't care enough to pay for something better. 5/x
— Aaron Miller (@aaronmiller.info) February 3, 2026 at 10:59 PM
Perplexity = Snapchat. A truly unique offering, but the people who don't use it don't get why it exists. The people who do use it love it. Likes doing weird things as a way to stand out. Always treated like a quirky little brother. 6/x
— Aaron Miller (@aaronmiller.info) February 3, 2026 at 10:59 PM
DeepSeek/Kimi/Z.ai/etc. = Huawei/Xiaomi/Oppo/etc. Providing insane value as long as you are willing to ignore the idea that the Chinese government uses them to spy on you. Tinkerers & geeks love them, of course. An ecosystem of YouTubers will rush to review every new model. 7/x
— Aaron Miller (@aaronmiller.info) February 3, 2026 at 10:59 PM
Obviously I'm opinionated, and this is not a perfect list but fun to think about. Anything I missed? 8/8
— Aaron Miller (@aaronmiller.info) February 3, 2026 at 10:59 PM