---
schema: 1
type: term
title: The middle passage
description: >-
  The middle passage is the expensive middle period of AI product economics: the
  phase in which AI products are costly to run today but won't be in two years —
  yet the winners will already be defined by then, so companies need capital to
  survive the gap.
canonical: >-
  https://liquidgold.cc/channel/everyinc/explore/term/the-middle-passage-8bf1be5cc417
markdown: >-
  https://liquidgold.cc/channel/everyinc/explore/term/the-middle-passage-8bf1be5cc417.md
llms: null
parent: 'https://liquidgold.cc/channel/everyinc/llms.txt'
channel: everyinc
updated: '2026-10-23T22:12:35.346Z'
language: null
children: []
---


# The middle passage

Canonical: https://liquidgold.cc/channel/everyinc/explore/term/the-middle-passage-8bf1be5cc417

Parent: [Channel index](https://liquidgold.cc/channel/everyinc/llms.txt)

## Definition

The middle passage is the expensive middle period of AI product economics: the phase in which AI products are costly to run today but won't be in two years — yet the winners will already be defined by then, so companies need capital to survive the gap.

In this channel's material, **the middle passage** is the term for the expensive middle period of AI product economics: the stretch of time when running an AI product is costly, even though costs will fall dramatically later — and the market's winners will already be defined before that relief arrives. It's why Granola's founder, Chris Pedregal, explains raising a $20M round despite a small-team instinct to raise less.