The AI market is entering a period of financial scrutiny. Investors want evidence of sustainable returns, while founders face a more immediate challenge: building products whose economics work beyond the demonstration. The slide that said "TBD" Picture a pitch meeting in 2023. An AI founder reaches slide fourteen of the presentation. The heading reads, "Path to Profitability." Below it sits one word: "TBD." The demonstration has gone well. The model analyses documents, writes

Artificial intelligence has become one of the fastest-adopted technologies in modern business history. According to Stanford University's AI Index 2025, 78% of organizations reported using AI in at least one business function during 2024, compared with 55% in the previous year. At the same time, many organizations continue to struggle to demonstrate measurable financial returns from AI investments. Adoption does not automatically translate into value creation. For business le