For companies, the real power of AI rarely resides in the models themselves. It comes from how they are applied. The most successful organizations do not chase technology for its own sake. They begin with clear business pain points and ask how AI can improve decisions, efficiency, or customer experience in measurable ways.
Manufacturers use predictive algorithms to anticipate equipment failures before they happen. Banks deploy AI to detect fraud and refine risk models. These are not headline-grabbing projects, yet they deliver consistent value. The lesson is clear: AI is not a magic wand but a tool that must be embedded into workflows and evaluated by outcomes such as time saved, costs reduced, and quality improved. Firms that treat AI as a practical process enhancer, rather than a shiny experiment, will be the ones to reap lasting benefits.
The current industry obsession with infrastructure such as foundation models, GPUs, and compute power is understandable but incomplete. These investments are capital-intensive and highly visible, but the real disruption comes when AI transforms how businesses operate.
AI’s enduring value will emerge when it reshapes business models by enabling dynamic pricing, adaptive logistics, or self-optimizing decision frameworks. These are not just technological breakthroughs; they are organizational ones. They require new thinking about how companies create and capture value. Many firms are building technological muscle while neglecting the commercial reinvention required for durable innovation. Those that align AI with strategy instead of spectacle will define the next competitive landscape.
The current infrastructure race has concentrated immense power among a handful of global technology giants. A small number of firms now control the data pipelines, computing capacity, and platforms on which the entire AI ecosystem depends. This centralization has accelerated progress—but also introduced systemic fragility.
If demand slows, regulation tightens, or technical progress disappoints, these giants could all pull back at once, triggering a cascading contraction reminiscent of the dotcom bust or Japan’s bubble economy of the 1990s. Overreliance on a few providers also limits diversity and experimentation. The alternative is a more open and distributed ecosystem—one that encourages open-source models, regional data strategies, and interoperability standards. Such diversity would make AI more resilient and more inclusive.
As companies race to deploy AI, the line between ambition and recklessness grows thin. Responsible innovation requires discipline: clear metrics for success, thresholds for risk, and mechanisms for accountability. Small-scale pilots and explainable algorithms can help avoid the reputational and financial damage that often follows hype-driven projects.
AI should be treated as an instrument of transformation, not a corporate trophy. Firms that pursue it merely to appear modern will soon find themselves burdened with costly, underperforming systems. Those that build governance into their innovation processes will be far better equipped to balance enthusiasm with prudence.
Every technological revolution passes through a cycle of excess, collapse, and consolidation. The dotcom era ended with disillusionment, but from its ashes rose the infrastructure and regulatory frameworks that underpin today’s digital economy. The same evolution may await AI.
After the speculative froth recedes, costs will fall, standards will mature, and adoption will become more sustainable. Policymakers must prepare for that stage by fostering fair competition, safeguarding data, and improving energy efficiency while keeping innovation alive. For investors and executives alike, volatility is inevitable, but so is renewal.
Bubbles, in the end, are not purely destructive. They clear the field for genuine progress. When the noise subsides, the long-term winners will be those who built AI not as spectacle but as substance.
To find out more about how IGPI Group can provide support for businesses, browse through our insight articles or get in contact with us.
Kohki Sakata, Partner of IGPI Group & CEO of IGPI Singapore
After joining Cap Gemini and Coca Cola, Kohki joined Revamp Corporation where he managed projects on global expansion and turnaround in various sectors including F&B, healthcare, retail, IT, etc. After joining IGPI, he has managed projects mainly on global expansion and cross border M&A in various sectors such as logistics, IT, telecom, retail, etc. In addition to his broad experience in implementing solutions that has been developed in Western countries, he has developed multiple methods to turnaround Asian companies with focus on setting clear vision and employee empowerment. Kohki has proven the practicality of these methods by turning around Asian companies not only as an advisor but also as senior management.
He graduated from Waseda University Department of Political Science and Economics and IE Business School.
Shivaji Das, Managing Director of IGPI Singapore
Shivaji has over 20 years of strategy consulting experience, specializing in New Business Models, Innovation Roadmaps, and Sustainability Journeys. He has worked with private and public sector clients across 25 countries in sectors like Technology, Semiconductors, Chemicals, Healthcare, Renewable Energy, and Construction. Previously, Shivaji was a Partner and Managing Director-APAC at Frost & Sullivan. His paper on Artificial Intelligence was presented at CAINE-2000 in Hawaii, USA. He is the author of seven acclaimed travel, art and business books including The Visible Invisibles and Rebels, Traitors, Peacemakers (both Penguin Random House), as well as The Great Lockdown: lessons learned during the pandemic from organizations around the world (Wiley, USA).
He is an alumnus of IIT Delhi and IIM Calcutta.
IGPI Group is a Japan rooted premium management consulting & Investment Group headquartered in Tokyo with a footprint in Osaka, Singapore, Hanoi, Shanghai & Melbourne, as well as parts of Europe and India. The organization was established in 2007 by former members of the Industrial Revitalization Corporation of Japan (IRCJ), a USD 100 billion sovereign wealth fund focusing on turn-around projects in Japan. IGPI Group has 13 institutional investors, including Nomura Holdings, SMBC, KDDI, Recruit & Sumitomo Corporation to name a few. IGPI Group has vast experience in supporting Fortune 500s, Govt. agencies, Universities, SMEs and funded startups across Asia and beyond for their strategic business needs and hands-on support across a wide variety of industries. IGPI group has ~8,500 employees on a consolidated basis.
* This material is intended merely for reference purposes based on our experience and is not intended to be comprehensive and does not constitute as advice. Information contained in this material has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but IGPI does not represent or warrant the quality, completeness, and accuracy of such information. All rights reserved by IGPI.
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