Before, Google would launch a new Android version. Or Facebook would launch React, and developers would flock en masse to the ecosystem and the new features. These are very low-barrier entry ecosystems. All you need is a cheap computer or phone, which you probably already have for other reasons.
I get the impression that this is not happening with AI tech. Whoever is flocking to these is not contributing much to improve the ecosystem. There's a lot of users, but they're not doing anything interesting, and it's not getting the traction they expected.
I could be wrong, but I think I'm on the right track on this one. High-value collaborators know that they can jump in at any time, there's nothing really special about it that requires the early investment, and currently there is no clear reward for being an early adopter.
I've self hosted everything except training, I've been using colab for that, not because it's faster (it isn't) but because the heat is awful.