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AI, spies and $12 coffee: A dispatch from the San Francisco bubble

The Australian Financial Review (AFR) •
November 11, 2026 • 08:24 AM
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Flush with cash and unfazed by spy scandals, Silicon Valley’s AI elite are chasing superintelligence that’s making even them a little nervous.

AI, spies and $12 coffee: A dispatch from the San Francisco bubble

San Francisco | The tech aristocracy of San Francisco, home of artificial intelligence giants Anthropic and OpenAI, is unquestionably living in a bubble.

From the waves of cash ready to be invested in the latest AI start-ups that pay $500,000 a year, to the inflation that leads to $12 coffees, $20 bottles of water, and runaway real estate, to the innovation (driverless taxis, anyone?) – it is a city that feels apart from the rest of the Western world.

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