"AI itself is known for its bigness - it's in the name, large language model. On the ground, techies are going small. AI heads are crawling for exclusive, small-batch merchandise to flaunt on X and show just how inner circle they are. As AI merch booms, it's clearer than ever that these companies - both massive foundation model companies and startups - have hit the mainstream.These days, AI status symbols are popping up everywhere."
"Anthropic fans could pick up a free tote bag, "thinking" cap, and copy of Dario Amodei's book - if they were willing to wait in line. In early October, Anthropic partnered with Graydon Carter's Air Mail newsstand for a Claude-themed pop-up. The baseball caps quickly went viral, sending hordes of fans to the shop. Eventually, the organizers ran out. Sunita Mohanty was one of the lucky few to score a cap."
""It was super packed, and it was clearly all sorts of engineers and builders and startup folks," Mohanty said. Several attendees looked like they had come with their teams from work, she said, and all were wearing the matching caps. Mohanty wore her hat on the 6 a.m. flight back to San Francisco. At least two people told her they loved the cap, she said."
Exclusive small-batch merchandise from AI companies has become a visible status symbol among engineers and startup employees. Companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, and Cursor are distributing branded items—caps, tote bags, token plaques, and novelty keys—through pop-ups and events that draw long lines and social-media buzz. Fans wear the items publicly and post on platforms like X to signal insider status. Pop-up scarcity and viral demand underscore mainstream cultural penetration as both large foundation-model firms and startups compete to create collectible swag that fosters community identity and brand loyalty.
Read at Business Insider
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]