Jersey Mike’s IPO illustrates how bad the AI hype has become

I can’t tell the exact tipping point from realistic excitement over a new technology, to hype, to aww-come-on — but I’m pretty sure when a sandwich shop with Danny DeVito as its public face talks about AI in its IPO documents, we must be getting close.

Because of investor thirst for all things AI these days, I understand why tech companies feel the need to sprinkle AI dust all over their pitches. This is as true for non-AI startups raising venture capital as it is for Bending Spoons’ public debut , a company in the business of buying aging, “not-AI” tech companies to rehabilitate.

Just for kicks, I took a look at Jersey Mike’s IPO documents to see how far this compulsion may go. Surely a sandwich shop would have no need to mention AI in its S-1 . But lo and behold!

The term artificial intelligence and its acronym “AI” were mentioned 22 times. In this case, the company can’t claim to be selling AI software. It sells submarine sandwiches. AI products are what investors are really hungering for (terrible pun intended).

Still, it found a way to mention AI in its investor-risk warnings. That may be even more funny. It doesn’t explain what it’s using AI for that could be dangerous to investors, beyond a hand-wave of a phrase, “We are beginning to use AI Technologies in our business.”

In all fairness, as a company that operates franchisees, it does rely on software (mentioned 52 times) and data (112 mentions), as all businesses do. Its AI risk warning was boilerplate copy, perhaps even necessary, as such disasters have already happened to other food businesses, like the half-baked AI inventory tool that Starbucks rolled out, which couldn’t count and was recently scrapped.

Still, I’m going to go out on a limb here and predict that the risk of an AI disaster for a company that produces real-life sandwiches, not AI slop, is about the same as, say, a franchise shop getting hit by lightning. That actually happened, by the way, to a shop in Texas in 2021. Yet weather was only mentioned five times in the S-1. And lightning? Not once.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission . This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

Last chance to save up to $190 on TechCrunch Founder Summit. Join 1,000+ founders and VCs at all stages for real-world scaling insights and connections that move the needle. Savings end June 26, 11:59 p.m. PT .

The ‘Father of the Internet’ is finally retiring Tim Fernholz

The ‘Father of the Internet’ is finally retiring

OpenClaw is finally available on Android and iOS Lucas Ropek

OpenClaw is finally available on Android and iOS

Flipper Device’s new Busy Bar is a customizable display for productivity Ivan Mehta

Flipper Device’s new Busy Bar is a customizable display for productivity

Ford rehires ‘gray beard’ engineers after AI falls short Anthony Ha

Ford rehires ‘gray beard’ engineers after AI falls short

Govee’s smart nugget ice maker makes every iced drink feel like a luxury Aisha Malik

Govee’s smart nugget ice maker makes every iced drink feel like a luxury

Asian AI startups launch Mythos-like models as Anthropic’s export ban drags on Kate Park

Asian AI startups launch Mythos-like models as Anthropic’s export ban drags on

FTC gives Musk the OK to acquire SpaceX alumni startup Mesh Marina Temkin

FTC gives Musk the OK to acquire SpaceX alumni startup Mesh

Pontos-chave

A menção excessiva de IA em IPOs pode diluir a confiança dos investidores em inovações genuínas.

Startups brasileiras devem integrar IA de forma significativa, evitando superficialidades que podem levar a falhas.

A transparência sobre o uso de tecnologias emergentes é crucial para manter a credibilidade no mercado.

Análise editorial

A menção excessiva de inteligência artificial (IA) em documentos de IPO, como no caso da Jersey Mike's, reflete uma tendência preocupante no mercado, onde a tecnologia é utilizada como um chamariz, mesmo em setores que não têm relação direta com ela. Para o setor de tecnologia brasileiro, isso pode indicar que startups locais também sentirão a pressão de incluir IA em suas propostas, mesmo que não seja pertinente. Essa prática pode diluir a confiança dos investidores em inovações genuínas, uma vez que a verdadeira inovação deve ser baseada em soluções concretas e não em modismos.

Além disso, a situação ressalta a necessidade de um entendimento mais profundo sobre o uso de IA nas empresas. No Brasil, onde o ecossistema de startups está em expansão, é crucial que as empresas não apenas mencionem IA, mas que a integrem de forma significativa em seus processos. A superficialidade na adoção de tecnologias pode levar a falhas e desilusões, como já ocorreu com a Starbucks e sua ferramenta de inventário baseada em IA.

O que observar a seguir é como as empresas brasileiras responderão a essa pressão por 'hype' em torno da IA. Será que elas conseguirão equilibrar a necessidade de atratividade para investidores com a entrega de valor real? A transparência sobre o uso de tecnologias emergentes será fundamental para manter a credibilidade no mercado. O cenário atual pode servir como um alerta para que as startups brasileiras evitem cair na armadilha da superficialidade e busquem inovações que realmente impactem seus negócios e seus clientes.

Jersey Mike’s IPO illustrates how bad the AI hype has become

Pontos-chave

Análise editorial

O que esta cobertura entrega

Sobre este artigo