The AI race: Everyone sprinting for the same finish line
An analogy to the Calgary Stampede's chuckwagon race
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, it’s no surprise to anyone that there’s an intense race going on in the AI world.
Between ChatGPT (OpenAI), Claude (Anthropic), and Gemini (Google), their AI chatbots currently represent around 91% of the web visit share.
Their race reminded me of the Calgary Stampede’s Chuckwagon Race.
2026 Calgary Stampede
This past Sunday, July 12, was closing day for the Calgary Stampede.
Every July, this city swaps its office towers for cowboy hats and turns into one big party for ten days straight: rodeo, rides, pancake breakfasts, music performances. This year, the Stampede is estimated to generate $721 million for the Alberta economy, making it one of the largest events of its kind in North America.
I was invited to watch the Chuckwagon Race on closing night.
Let me tell you, I have never been a rodeo person. Being up and close to the track, watching the drivers and the outriders wheel their horses into position and then explode off the line, I finally understood the buzz.
Wagons thundering, dust everywhere, all for winning the race.
Sitting behind me were a few guys betting a few bucks on each heat (each round). I didn’t know anything about Chuckwagon Races, but I could tell they pretended like they knew what they were doing.
That didn’t matter. Between the yelling and the action, I was hooked.
AI’s “Chuckwagon Race” Reward vs. Risk
Right now, the race between the 3 AI companies is even more intense.
The winner of the Chuckwagon Race, Jamie Laboucane, took home $98,800 in earnings.
The stakes for the AI race?
Trillions.
Who’s going to win?
It’s anyone’s guesses.
While Mr. Laboucane took home the title of the championship and bragging rights with a $98,800 prize, the economics of the Stampede’s Chuckwagon Race crossed my mind.
I can’t imagine the years of experience and effort Jamie invested into taking the title of the championship.
Not to mention the tremendous risks taken on over the years of preparing towards this one moment.
Meanwhile, the Calgary Stampede is able to generate significant revenue from providing the infrastructure for hosting the event.
I recognize that most of the rodeo participants didn’t do it for the money. But I’m using it to illustrate a point.
What’s my point here?
Laboucane and his team took on all the risk: the years of training, the horses, the danger, the wear and tear, all of it. And for their trouble, the champion walked away with just under $100K.
The Calgary Stampede doesn’t race. It owns the track, sells the tickets, rents out the concessions, and collects on every single heat, no matter which wagon crosses the line first.
The racers take the risk. The Stampede takes the dough.
Canada’s lower risk way to play the AI race: Nuclear power
The Calgary Stampede provides the infrastructure for the Chuckwagon race.
In the AI race, the infrastructure is data centers, computer chips, and electricity.
Canada is not in the race to out-build the AI labs. We aren’t the wagon that wins the heat. But we can own a piece of the track - with a much lower risk.
Canada has 2 advantages in the nuclear game:
The CANDU (Canada Deuterium Uranium) reactor
Canada is the world’s second-largest uranium producer
Reactors need fuel. Data centers need power. A lot of power.
Canada happens to sit on both the technology and the raw material.
Higher electricity demand is expected regardless of who wins the AI race
Just like it doesn’t matter who wins the Chuckwagon race, the Calgary Stampede wins no matter what.
Regardless of who wins the AI race, electricity demand will continue to rise as compute demand increases significantly. More and more people and companies are adopting AI into their daily lives and their business operations.
Everyone is watching the horses. Few are watching the track.
Trillions are rushing into the AI race, meanwhile, few are looking at the boring infrastructure such as nuclear power.
As we have written extensively about finding asymmetrical reward vs. risk opportunities, this is another great example of a prime setup.
If you like my work, I invite you to share it with others.
Eric Chang
Calgary, Alberta
July 14, 2026
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