The Old Meta (2004-2023)
The Elegant Model:
- Aggregate attention via social apps
- Monetize through advertising
- Stay in the software layer
- Let others handle infrastructure
- Scale infinitely with users
Hidden Assumption: Software layer would remain the value capture point
The New Reality (2024+)
Binding Constraints Shifted:
- ✗ Not algorithms anymore
- ✗ Not data anymore
- ✓ Compute capacity
- ✓ Power availability
- ✓ Chip supply
Software layer commoditizing. Open source proliferates. Differentiation shifts to infrastructure.
The Strategic Choice
Option A: Stay Software Company (REJECTED)
Option B: Transform Completely (CHOSEN)
- Control your own destiny
- Infrastructure becomes moat
- Compound at physical layer
The Transformation
From: Social platform that uses AI
To: AI infrastructure company that owns social platforms
The Transformation Thesis
Assembling the Fully Vertically Integrated AI Stack:
Applications → AI Models → Compute → Silicon → Data Centers → Energy → Wearables
Goal: Survival — and a new competitive moat that compounds at the infrastructure layer.
The Strategic Logic
Models commoditize + Platforms saturate + Attention doesn’t compound without infrastructure = Infrastructure is the new moat
This is part of a comprehensive analysis. Read the full analysis on The Business Engineer.
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