There is one notable corner of the tech world that has not been touched by the artificial intelligence euphoria sweeping through the stock market.
If generative AI really does represent the next great sales opportunity for the tech industry, then software companies ought to be among the biggest winners. After all, most AI is likely to show up as enhanced features in the business software that companies rely on in their daily operations.
However, the BVP Nasdaq index of cloud software companies is down nearly 10 per cent this year, while the Nasdaq Composite is up more than 20 per cent. It has also halved from its pandemic-era peak. The slump points to an industry at a crossroads. A long, secular growth phase driven by the rise of the cloud looks like it is entering a new and more mature state, while the next (the spread of generative AI in business) has barely begun.