ROI now stands for “return on inference” and it’s all that matters for the next 18 months

The post argues that "return on inference" (ROI) has become the primary metric for evaluating AI investments and business value over the next 18 months, shifting focus from traditional return on investment measures to the practical utility and cost-effectiveness of AI inference operations. This reflects industry emphasis on making AI models operationally efficient and economically viable in production environments rather than just capability or training metrics.

Source: Sonya Huang (X) | 2026-05-17