Subsidized AI Sales Mask Demand

When AI vendors finance adoption — via joint ventures, direct subsidies to consultants, or guaranteed returns for channel partners — reported enterprise revenue can reflect temporary financial engineering rather than sustainable customer demand. That makes renewal rates and unsubsidized retention the key metrics for judging whether AI growth is real. — If widespread, this practice could inflate valuations, misallocate capital, and delay regulatory or investor responses to product safety and deployment risks.