- Industry veteran Dan Caruso places AI and quantum computing at the centre of the next growth cycle, building on lessons from past infrastructure booms.
- His perspective highlights the importance of durable business value, infrastructure readiness and disciplined innovation in navigating rapid technological change.
What happened: AI will drive long-term growth by pushing demand for new digital infrastructure, not just short-term innovation
In an extensive interview, technology entrepreneur and investor Dan Caruso reviewed his long career and discussed how artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to promote a new round of innovation and industrial growth on the basis of digital transformation in recent decades. Caruso was the co-founder and former CEO of zayo group. With his help, this large communication infrastructure company realized the large-scale exit of billions of dollars. Now, through his company Caruso ventures, he has shifted his focus to cutting-edge technology.
Caruso argues that the current moment mirrors past cycles of expansion and disruption. Drawing on his experience chronicled in his recent book Bandwidth, he emphasises how the boom-bust-rebirth patterns of the dot-com era offer lessons for today’s AI and beyond. He says AI isn’t just transforming specific sectors but creating demand for new infrastructure and services — from data centres to network capacity — while quantum computing, space tech and robotics will layer on additional growth drivers.
For Caruso, technology adoption isn’t a linear journey: breakthroughs like AI fuel rapid innovation and competition, but businesses must focus on building durable value, not just riding hype. His advice to entrepreneurs is to design business models with tangible cash flow potential and unique capabilities that can withstand future cycles.
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Why it’s important
There are several reasons why Caruso’s view is important. First of all, it emphasizes the dual role of artificial intelligence as a catalyst for innovation and an engine of economic growth – it is not only a set of tools, but also a force to reshape the way enterprises invest, compete and scale up. By linking today’s booming artificial intelligence with historical models, he provides a framework for predicting the current and future direction of technological development.
Secondly, his emphasis on infrastructure highlights a reality that is often overlooked in the innovation narrative: a strong digital infrastructure – from optical fiber networks to advanced computing facilities – is the cornerstone of long-term technology application and enterprise success. He has led zayo, which has built one of the largest optical networks in the United States and Europe, which further confirms his call for strategic investment in connectivity and computing capacity.
Finally, Caruso’s thinking encourages people to adopt a balanced and innovative approach: we should not only make full use of the transformation potential of artificial intelligence and quantum technology, but also pay attention to sustainable growth, business fundamentals and prepare for the next round of transformation.
