The real winners of the AI Race: Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Nvidia Margarida Silva, 7 July 2025 The so-called “AI Race” is dominating business and policy discussions on technology. With companies and states competing to conquer the developing genAI market, start-ups like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Mistral are often viewed as national champions with the potential to challenge the dominance of Big Tech. However, SOMO’s analysis of the value chains of the 12 most valuable genAI start-ups tells another story: start-ups are highly dependent on Big Tech firms. https://www.somo.nl/the-real-winners-of-the-ai-race/ -- _______________ *Maurizio Borghi* Università di Torino https://www.dg.unito.it/persone/maurizio.borghi Co-Director Nexa Center for Internet & Society <https://nexa.polito.it/>