Why You Don’t Need Millions to Win in AI

Just the right starting point

Photo by Eugene Zhyvchik on Unsplash

There’s a lot of noise in the AI space right now.

Between OpenAI’s latest model drops, Nvidia’s skyrocketing stock, and billion-dollar funding rounds flying around — it can feel like building in AI is reserved for tech giants with deep pockets.

But here’s the truth:

You don’t need millions to win in AI.
You just need to be building at the right layer.

Let me break it down.

The 4 Layers of AI (And Why Only One Truly Matters for Most Builders)

There are four foundational layers in the AI ecosystem. Understanding them is key to knowing where everyday entrepreneurs and operators can win.

Level 1: The Chip Layer

This is the foundation — the hardware that powers everything.

Think: NVIDIA’s H100 GPUs, which power nearly every major AI deployment.

These are the companies designing and manufacturing the physical chips that AI models run on. Hugely capital intensive. Deeply technical. Massive R&D cycles.

Unless you’ve got billions to burn, this layer is out of reach.