CICC: The American AI in the "Cotton Candy" Era
CICC believes that the U.S. AI industry is currently in the "financial cotton candy" era, with rapid growth in capital expenditure. Corporate financing is gradually shifting from operating cash flow to external debt financing, and private credit and asset securitization have also become important sources of funding. Compared to the tech bubble and the financialization of real estate, the current financialization of AI is still in its early stages. However, high oil prices, interest rate hike risks, and tightening financing conditions may still exacerbate short-term liquidity fluctuations.