The market is no longer merely betting on artificial intelligence. Increasingly, it is financing it.

For much of the past two years, investors have viewed AI primarily through the lens of earnings growth, semiconductor demand and equity market leadership. The dominant narrative has been straightforward - AI drives productivity, productivity drives profits and profits justify higher valuations.

That framework is becoming incomplete. The AI story is evolving from a technology cycle into a capital cycle. Artificial intelligence is no longer influencing just tech...