Months after Google CEO said AI investment has ‘elements of irrationality’, he defends

Two months after warning about “elements of irrationality” in the AI investment boom, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai switched gears at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, defending Big Tech’s massive spending spree. With Google Cloud’s backlog doubling to $240 billion and Gemini surpassing 750 million users, Pichai compared AI infrastructure investment to railroads and highways—expensive bets that ultimately unlocked enormous economic value.