ME AI message: a16z released the second edition of its 《Market Conditions》 report, presenting key stock-market and technology trends in the first two quarters before 2026 in chart form. The report notes that technology has been the primary source of profitable growth since 2023. By 2026, as of the end of August, it has contributed about 76% of the S&P 500’s total earnings growth, replacing durable consumer goods as the force that defines the cycle—what it calls the “Everything Cycle.” Within technology, themes have shifted from “bits” to “atoms.” AI buildout has driven a surge in demand for capital-intensive industries such as semiconductors, power, and networking. Funding is mainly coming from record profits at the world’s largest tech companies, and increasingly depends on debt. Addressing skeptics who question the idea that “GPUs become obsolete in three or four years,” the report says that an upward inflection in the AI computing demand curve means that A100 chips installed a few years ago are still quite useful. (Source: ME)