In the summer of 2026, the artificial intelligence industry crossed a quiet but consequential threshold — the competition shifted from who could build the most powerful models to who could make them most affordable. OpenAI and Google, two of the defining forces in modern AI, began cutting prices dramatically, not from generosity but from pressure: Chinese competitors and open-source alternatives have begun eroding the premium that once came with technological leadership. What unfolds now is a familiar human story — the moment when a new frontier closes, and the harder work of markets, margins,