Red Hat CTO Chris Wright on AI Hype: Why Today’s Buzz Is More Real Than Crypto

Insights from Red Hat CTO Chris Wright on AI Hype and Enterprise Reality

While artificial intelligence is experiencing a significant surge in public and enterprise interest, some of the expectations may be overblown, said Chris Wright, Chief Technology Officer at Red Hat. However, he emphasized that unlike trends such as cryptocurrencies or NFTs, AI is built on a more solid and practical foundation. This perspective reflects Red Hat CTO Chris Wright on AI hype, emphasizing how the current momentum aligns more with long-term technological shifts than short-lived tech trends.

Speaking at a closed-door media interaction during the Red Hat Summit 2025, Wright noted that the evolution of AI mirrors the early hype surrounding cloud computing more than any fleeting tech fad.

“A more fitting comparison is what we saw about 15 years ago when cloud technology was still in its infancy. Back then, people expected immediate transformations, but meaningful adoption took years. That’s typical of impactful, disruptive technologies—they often unfold more gradually than initially expected,” Wright explained.

He pointed out that while some components of the AI narrative may not reach full realization, the underlying progress in the field is substantial and has long-term implications for business operations and infrastructure.

The session also featured insights from Red Hat’s top leadership, including President and CEO Matt Hicks, Chief Product Officer Ashesh Badani, and Chief Revenue Officer Andrew Brown, highlighting the company’s strategy around building flexible and scalable infrastructure to support AI applications across different platforms. These discussions further reinforced Red Hat CTO Chris Wright on AI hype, especially his view that real-world AI adoption depends on flexible and scalable infrastructure.

Wright reiterated that Red Hat is concentrating its efforts on enabling organizations to deploy and manage AI workloads effectively, no matter the cloud environment or architecture, ensuring that the technology serves practical and strategic enterprise needs.