The media and the world at large has had fun with acronyms and terms like ‘FAANG’, to ‘Mag 7’ of late (modeled after the Magnificent Seven of course. ‘FAANG’ of course popular for a very long time now.
With OpenAI’s recent momentum, I’ve often been talking about the ‘Mag 7 and.a half’. But no more. There seems to be a new acronym for the leading US AI companies emerging. And it’s a fruit very popular in many parts of the world.
“Over the years, acronyms have come and gone to describe America’s tech darlings — the companies college grads dream of joining and Wall Street investors love to watch.”
“First, it was FAANG: Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google.”
“Why it matters: It’s a reflection of the moment. The companies commanding attention today are the ones leading the AI revolution.”
“The power has shifted in Big Tech from the FAANGs and the Mag 7s over to the AI leaders,” venture capitalist Kristina Shen recently said on CNBC. “It’s very clear in terms of the products they’re shipping, the consumer love they’re demanding and the types of acquisitions they’re making that they are controlling consumer sentiment.”
The MANGO acronym also offers some flexibility to substitute names as I mentioned above.
“Zoom in: Different iterations of MANGO are coming up in blog posts and on social media. Some people think of Meta and Apple instead of Microsoft and Anthropic.”
“But each company has earned its place in the new acronym for AI prowess — whether that’s Microsoft’s ability to reach millions of Americans at work with Copilot or Nvidia’s chip dominance.”
“Once you hear it you’re like, ‘Oh, of course,’” says Robert Rosenberg, partner at Moses Singer and managing director of MS Strategic Solutions, who recently wrote on MANGO’s rise.”
“These are the companies that are in the headlines every day. These are the companies everyone wants to hear from.”
The evolution also reflects career aspirations of new entrants into tech:
“Between the lines: MANGO is also the new goal for computer science graduates across the country and around the world.”
“But landing these coveted jobs is harder than it was in the FAANG era. The 15 largest tech companies’ hiring of new grads has plummeted more than 50% since 2019, the San Francisco Standard reports, citing VC firm SignalFire.”
“Instead, the companies dominating AI are locked in a super-expensive talent war for a small group of top AI researchers.”
“The bottom line: FAANG represented an era when each tech giant ruled its own domain, like social media, streaming or search. In the MANGO age, there’s just one that matters — AI.”
To be sure, these terms and acronyms will continue to evolve. With the recent ascension of Oracle, Broadcom, AMD and others, the AI lists of course continue to expand. More entrants into the AI Wild West.
