Viewing the Restructuring of Global AI Industry Power Through the 100-Person List

Industry Background

In 2025, after multiple rounds of model iteration and capital tides, the AI industry's power structure has shown an unprecedented concentration. The "2025 AI Power Index" list released by Observer names 100 figures, including Sam Altman and Jensen Huang, as key players shaping AI's future—a list that itself is a microcosm of the industry landscape. The list's methodology clearly states that power in the AI field takes two forms: capital and ideas. The former determines the survival of projects, market direction, and industrial transformation; the latter shapes collective perceptions of AI through research paradigms, governance frameworks, and thought leadership. The two nurture each other and together form "the script that the rest of us follow."

Market Impact

The list's release came at a critical inflection point for the industry. OpenAI, as the top force on the list, has its commercialization and product pace directly disturbing market sentiment: ChatGPT has 700 million weekly active users and annualized revenue exceeding $12 billion, while its recent $30 billion cloud contract with Oracle is seen by some analysts as "a signal at the top of the bubble." Notably, Altman himself has also expressed concerns about the high valuations of some AI startups, and this "internal disagreement" has intensified market discussions about the sustainability of AI investment. Meanwhile, Microsoft and OpenAI reached a non-binding restructuring agreement allowing OpenAI to transition to a for-profit structure—a move that could reshape AI companies' governance models and capital structures, with far-reaching implications for investors and ecosystem participants.

Competitive Landscape

The top twenty on the list are almost entirely dominated by the model layer and infrastructure layer, revealing the two poles of the current AI industry. NVIDIA founder Jensen Huang ranks second, underscoring the central role of computing power in the AI value chain; the Amodei siblings of Anthropic, Demis Hassabis of Google DeepMind, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai represent the power of model and search giants. Notably, emerging forces such as Alexandr Wang of Scale AI and Aravind Srinivas of Perplexity have appeared on the list, indicating that data and AI-native applications are becoming new power nodes. On the other hand, traditional enterprise cloud providers such as Oracle's Larry Ellison and Microsoft's Satya Nadella hold high positions, reflecting AI's penetration into the enterprise market. The inclusion of tech figures like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel shows that AI power has transcended the technical domain and infiltrated policy and capital operations.

Enterprise ImplicationsFor corporate decision-makers, the core signal of this ranking is that power in the AI industry is highly concentrated, and it is shifting from model capabilities toward infrastructure and capital allocation. Enterprises should not blindly chase model leaderboards; instead, they should focus on their own position in the industry chain—whether to rely on APIs from giants such as OpenAI or to build independent AI capabilities. The representatives of enterprise-level AI applications on the ranking, such as Accenture's Julie Sweet, show that the practical deployment and value creation of AI have become key dimensions for measuring influence. Enterprises should carefully assess the return on AI investment, avoid falling into the trap of "AI for AI's sake," and pay attention to alternatives offered by open-source models in order to reduce dependence on a single supplier.

Future Outlook

Over the next 12 to 24 months, the power struggle in the AI industry will become even more intense. The capital-intensive arms race in computing power will continue, but regulatory pressure and security concerns may force leading companies to slow down. OpenAI's for-profit restructuring and Microsoft's involvement may trigger a new round of redefinition in governance structures, while geopolitical factors—such as Saudi Arabia, Canada, and other countries viewing AI development as technological sovereignty—will drive more national-level investment in computing power. In the next three years, the AI industry may shift from "models are king" to "applications are king." The true winners will be those companies that can turn AI into measurable business value and find a balance between ethics and efficiency.