As ChatGPT reaches its three-year anniversary on Sunday, its impact on financial markets and corporate strategy is proving far greater than the short time frame suggests. The launch of OpenAI’s flagship model didn’t just ignite the modern AI revolution – it helped reverse one of the harshest market environments investors had faced since the global financial crisis.
Markets transformed in three years
Since late 2022, stock prices have surged, operational structures have shifted, and hiring needs across industries have been reshaped by generative AI. The U.S. is also undergoing a massive infrastructure buildout tied to AI demand, from data centers to semiconductor capacity.
The result is an increasingly K-shaped economy, widening the gap between financial winners and laggards across both corporate and consumer sectors.
The AI-driven shift is dramatic on its own, but even more striking when viewed against the market backdrop from which it emerged.
From market despair to a historic turnaround
On Oct. 12, 2022, the S&P 500 hit its post-COVID trough, down 25% from its record at the start of that year. By the time OpenAI released ChatGPT on Nov. 30, 2022, the index had staged a modest rebound of nearly 13%, yet it wouldn’t reclaim a fresh all-time high until January 2024.
The fall of 2022 was defined by soaring inflation and an aggressive Federal Reserve tightening cycle. Tech stocks — once the heroes of the pandemic rally – were at the epicenter of the sell-off.
Future AI leaders saw some of their steepest declines in years: Nvidia (NVDA), Meta (META), and Palantir (PLTR) each plunged close to 70% at their lows. Apple (AAPL) dropped nearly 30%, Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) fell almost 40%, and Amazon (AMZN) shares were cut in half. Against this backdrop, the skepticism shadowing the early stages of the new bull market becomes far easier to understand.
A quiet announcement that reshaped everything
OpenAI’s original announcement unveiling ChatGPT consisted of just six sentences – remarkably understated given the seismic shift that would follow. At the time, OpenAI was valued at $14 billion. Today, the company’s private valuation sits near $500 billion, placing it among the world’s most valuable firms.
The initial product description simply highlighted the model’s conversational capabilities, its ability to answer follow-up questions, admit mistakes, and challenge incorrect premises.
Nothing in the brief release suggested the extent to which ChatGPT would alter corporate strategy, investor sentiment, or economic trajectories. Yet within months, it became the catalyst that helped lift markets out of recession fears, revive tech valuations, and fuel one of the strongest thematic rallies in recent memory.
Entering year four of the AI boom
As the AI cycle moves into its fourth year, the modest origins of this technological wave continue to shape how investors interpret its evolution. A ten-second announcement in late 2022 has grown into a multitrillion-dollar transformation — one that is redefining productivity, reshaping competition, and creating a new framework for economic growth.
