Deutsche Bank CEO Says AI Setbacks Are Possible but Rejects Broad Bubble Fears

Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing rejected fears of a broad AI bubble collapse Oct. 21, though he said individual companies could falter as investors weigh the returns on heavy spending.

“Overall, I don’t think that we are living in a bubble which is bursting,” Sewing said in an interview on the sidelines of the Berlin Global Dialogue. He distinguished possible setbacks at individual companies from a sharp near-term reversal in asset prices. Geopolitical tensions could also bring continued market volatility and higher interest rates, he said.

His view contrasts with Citadel founder Ken Griffin’s warning about AI investment at a New York conference Oct. 20. Griffin said investors were “almost certainly” in an AI bubble. He questioned how much companies would spend on the technology compared with the value they would gain.

The scale of the spending is central to that debate. A forecast published Sept. 23, 2025, projected that profitably funding the computing capacity needed to meet AI demand in 2030 would require $2 trillion in new annual revenue. It estimated a potential $800 billion annual revenue gap under that scenario, even after assumed savings from AI. The gap is a projection for 2030, not a current loss.

AI expansion could also affect credit markets. An earlier Deutsche Bank outlook on AI debt warned that bond issuance by AI companies could put more pressure on U.S. investment-grade credit spreads than on European spreads as borrowers compete for investor capital.

Sewing sees potential for AI in industrial uses. How much revenue and productivity the technology will generate remains an open question as companies build out computing capacity.