Standard Chartered debuts ‘AI bubble meter’ to track equity froth

When a global bank like Standard Chartered is publishing a dedicated “AI bubble meter,” it tells you AI is no longer a niche tech theme—it’s a macro driver that CIOs feel compelled to benchmark explicitly. The index is less about precise forecasting and more about codifying how institutional investors should think about AI’s upside versus the very real risk of overpaying for stories that won’t monetize.

The inaugural read—moderate optimism on AI equities over the next few quarters, tempered by warnings about disruption to hardware, legacy software, and services—captures where public markets are today: still all‑in on the secular AI thesis, but increasingly selective about business models. As more banks roll out similar tools, AI exposure will be tracked and managed like any other structural factor, sitting alongside growth, value, and quality in portfolio construction.

For the AGI race, this type of instrument doesn’t change the science, but it does shape the financing environment. If the consensus “bubble meter” stays green, capital for frontier labs and AI infrastructure remains cheap and plentiful. If it flashes red, boardrooms will suddenly care a lot more about unit economics, safety risk, and regulatory drag. That feedback loop between Wall Street sentiment and R&D budgets is becoming a critical, if indirect, input to how fast we push the frontier.