Stark’s announcement of launching his AI company stirred a tremendous public reaction.

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The media rushed to express anticipation for the new era Stark was about to usher in.

But beyond public interest, there was something even more important.

It was the flow of capital.

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In truth, Stark’s press conference lacked a detailed blueprint.

The specific products and services his AI company would offer remained shrouded in mystery.

The only thing made clear was that it would be built on open source and aimed to create a "new paradigm"...

Surprisingly, even that was enough to draw a flood of capital to Stark.

Despite Atlas’s warnings, investors entrusted their money to Stark’s vision.

This vividly demonstrated just how powerful Stark’s brand was in the market.

Moreover, it marked the moment when the battle of “Atlas vs. Stark” saw its victor.

After all, Atlas had recently criticized Stark’s credibility, warning against investing in someone like him.

But the result?

A crushing defeat for Atlas.

All eyes turned to the loser.

[Regrettable. But my stance has always been consistent. At the very least, in the realm of AI, we need objective ‘systems,’ not just ‘stories.’ Right now, Stark has offered only a story and a logo. The market invested in that alone...]

Appearing on a broadcast, Atlas admitted defeat as calmly as he could.

Then he added this:

[But raising funds isn’t everything. The real question is whether that money will translate into matching products and deliver returns for investors... That answer will come years later. With objective facts.]

Atlas’s message was clear.

“I was still right. You’ll regret it later.”

However, even if his prediction were to come true, that wouldn't be until far in the future.

The present reality was that Atlas had been thoroughly defeated in the court of public opinion.

Though he tried to appear composed, his tightly shut lips and slightly trembling eyes betrayed his true emotions.

On social media, memes and parodies of his stiff expression were already spreading like wildfire.

—Atlas: “I’m being rational” / Face: “About to have a heart attack”

—There’s a rumor that someone at Atlas’s office is currently performing voodoo on a Stark doll.

—A medical study says Atlas’s blood pressure rises by 10 points every time he hears the word “objective.”

—But is Atlas really a legend? Beaten by Orca in China, now smacked down by Stark in AI stocks...

—Even legends don’t last forever.

—How beautiful is the back of a man who knows when to bow out?

Public opinion was rapidly shifting to label Atlas as a has-been.

It was no different at Pareto.

“He was just unlucky. It happened right after that China failure...”

“This level of comment usually wouldn’t cause such a stir, but unfortunately, his opponent was Stark... It’s like announcing your loss with a megaphone.”

“Is it just me, or are all the Wall Street titans lately looking a bit... soft?”

Amid all this, the one who seemed happiest with the turn of events was none other than White Shark.

—Hahaha! That loudmouth didn’t say a word during the last Triangle Club meeting, just sat quietly in the corner... It was honestly refreshing! What do you think? Think he’s still got another trick up his sleeve?

“Who knows. He’ll figure it out himself.”

Honestly, Atlas’s loss didn’t matter to me.

“Stark vs. Atlas” was just Round 1 of this war, and now that the first round was over, I had to immediately prepare for the next phase.

‘He doesn’t even matter on this board anymore.’

Atlas was never anything more than a minor supporting character in my AI war.

He was merely a tool used to bring Stark onto the stage.

In chess terms, he wasn’t a king — just a rook.

His fall didn’t mean the game was over.

What I really needed to focus on was Round 2.

And the next target was...

“Gooble.”

That’s right — the face of Big Tech and the leading player in AI.

Gooble.

But then, an unexpected issue arose.

Gooble Welcomes Stark’s OpenFrame... “Expanding the AI Ecosystem Benefits Everyone”

They refused to fight.

***

Gooble was one of the two main protagonists in the AI war script I had written.

Stark vs. Gooble.

This chicken game between two giants was supposed to draw in more capital and accelerate the development of deep-learning GPUs — my true goal.

For this setup to play out, these two titans needed to engage in a fierce psychological battle...

But Gooble’s reaction to Stark’s entry into the AI market was surprising.

The world doesn’t need to be divided. We welcome Stark’s participation. Constructive competition has always driven technological progress. Gooble embraces such competition and is ready to grow together.

Gooble actually welcomed the competition.

They rebranded it as a “healthy rivalry” that would benefit both sides.

Stark mocked them on Twitter, but Gooble responded with poise.

—Welcomed? I’m the type to storm the kitchen even without an invitation.

—We’re happy to have you in the kitchen. But we’re building a platform where everyone can cook together.

—You want ‘competition,’ huh? Well, all I care about is ‘winning.’

—We choose coexistence. Technology goes farther when we move forward together.

“Pretentious bastards. They monopolized the market with drawn swords, and now they preach coexistence?”

Stark’s voice oozed frustration.

Gooble’s unshakable stance only seemed to fuel his rage.

“Those bastards... They don’t even see me as a rival.”

Watching Stark grit his teeth, I just shrugged.

“They gain nothing by acknowledging you as a rival.”

In 2016, Gooble was the undisputed king of the AI world.

They had recruited top deep learning talent and acquired world-class research labs.

While other companies were still in theoretical stages, Gooble had already deployed AI across all business sectors — search, ads, maps, OS — turning theory into reality.

Research capabilities, talent pool, massive data, practical know-how...

In every aspect, Gooble was unrivaled.

They had no reason to acknowledge a fledgling startup as a rival.

‘That would only backfire on them.’

If Gooble were to officially label Stark as a “formidable competitor,” that alone would elevate Stark to “Gooble-approved rival” status.

It would only boost his image and influence.

That’s why Gooble was being careful not to make that mistake.

Just then, Stark ground his teeth again.

“As if everything else wasn’t enough, now they’re pretending to be open-source advocates?”

In the narrative I had crafted, Gooble was the “embodiment of monopoly,” while Stark stood for “open technology.”

Big Tech vs. Startup.

Closed vs. Open.

Monopoly vs. Open Source.

There was a reason I wanted to push this contrast.

But Gooble was now trying to blur even that boundary.

—We released ‘TensorNet’ as open source late last year. We’re leading the way in sharing.

Using a selectively released framework from a few months ago, they were acting like they were part of the open-source movement.

To Stark, it looked like nothing but a carefully calculated PR stunt.

“Two-faced hypocrites!”

The problem was, this situation wasn’t just bad for Stark — it was bad for me too.

What I wanted was a fierce battle, not some polite, well-mannered “healthy competition.”

"I'm not usually the type to lose in public debates, but dealing with those hypocrites is just..."

It was for that reason that he, who had stubbornly insisted on doing things his way like a lone wolf, finally visited Pareto in person.

Simply pushing forward with Stark’s usual methods wasn’t enough to create a proper fight against Gooble.

With a faint smile, I answered him.

"Then how about using my method this time?"

"And what method is that?"

"Not forcing things."

Stark tried to power through with brute strength.

But Gooble didn’t respond head-on — instead, they let things slide with graceful ease.

Still, even for such an opponent, there is a fitting way to respond.

"For now, let’s just go along with what Gooble says."

"Go along with what they say?"

"They’re telling us directly, aren’t they? ‘Together,’ ‘share.’"

I smiled brightly.

"Then let’s not refuse and accept all the ‘sharing’ that comes our way."

***

Gooble emphasized "sharing" to avoid creating an adversarial dynamic...

But that was a critical mistake.

Because the AI industry is, in the end, a resource war.

Whoever secures more resources gains the upper hand.

And the three key resources are these:

Talent, computing power, and data.

"Let’s start by gathering people."

In every tech field, talent is a vital resource — but it’s even more crucial in AI.

Unlike fields that have matured over decades, AI is still in its early stages, where foundational research drives the industry.

In other words, a single paper by a few top experts can change the direction of the entire field.

In fact, the major innovations that propelled AI — like GPT — often came from research teams with fewer than twenty members.

The problem is, most of those top talents are currently at Gooble.

The key was figuring out how to recruit them.

I quietly spoke to Stark.

"Use your fame to the fullest."

In Silicon Valley, when it comes to recruiting, the edge goes to visionary leaders who tell a good story.

There’s that famous line, after all — the one from Jobs: “Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or come with me and change the world?”

"Stark’s character fits perfectly into that kind of narrative."

If they stay at Gooble, they’ll just remain successful corporate researchers forever.

But if they join Stark?

They might become founding members of a company that changes the world.

Along with that comes fame — and the chance to secure massive stock options.

Of course, there’s no guarantee it’ll turn out that way, but the mere possibility would be tempting for some.

Anyway.

Once the strategy was decided, Stark didn’t hesitate.

He contacted several mid-level managers directly and managed to recruit one of them.

But why stop there?

What mattered was what came next.

"Since we’ve brought in such great talent, why not let the world know?"

"Announce it...?"

Normally, in this industry, high-profile talent acquisitions are kept quiet.

Publicizing them hurts the other side’s pride, which can negatively affect future collaborations, licensing deals, or joint research.

Most importantly, there’s the risk of lawsuits.

In this industry, where trade secrets are everything, it’s common for companies to sue for trade secret violations when key employees are poached.

But this time was different.

"Don’t worry. Didn’t Gooble say they believe in ‘sharing’?"

"...!"

A faint smile crept across Stark’s lips as he grasped the meaning behind my words.

And a few days later...

Stark held a major press conference to reveal the newly recruited talent.

“We’re pleased to welcome Dr. Ariel Anderson, former Director of Research at Gooble. Dr. Anderson will be leading the core architecture of our new OpenFrame framework.”

After a brief overview of her background and direction, the Q&A began.

As expected, journalists fired away with questions.

“Gooble is considered the top AI organization in the world. Was there a specific reason you left?”

“What motivated your decision to join OpenFrame? Was there a shared philosophy?”

“Do you believe the center of AI research is shifting from Big Tech to startups?”

Gooble had been promoting a “we’re all in this together” narrative — but Stark?

From the beginning, he had been framing the story as “Monopolistic Big Tech vs. Open Source Startup.”

So when a key talent defected from Gooble and stood before the press, it naturally came off as a defection from one side to the other.

"Are you concerned this could sour relations with Gooble?"

Stark answered this predictable question.

"Of course not. I’m confident that won’t happen. Doesn’t Gooble say they believe in ‘a world where everyone grows together’? I trust they’ll understand and embrace this level of ‘sharing.’"

At that, a few chuckles rippled through the press gallery.

But for Gooble, it was no laughing matter.

Under normal circumstances, they would have responded forcefully...

"But not right now."

Doing so would contradict the philosophy they’d been championing and would mean recognizing Stark as a serious rival.

In the end, they once again took the high road.

[We respect individual choices. We believe diverse approaches will enrich the AI ecosystem. We hope for growth together.]

Rather than officially acknowledging Stark as a rival, they chose to quietly move on.

But the question remains — how long can they keep wearing that mask of goodwill?

Well, we’ll find out soon enough.

After all, there’s still more “sharing” to be done.

"Next, let’s move on to computing."