- they can still discover entire new untapped markets for AI (that, potentially, only their models can unlock)
- they can find (novel, unique to them) ways to drive down the cost of running their models
- they can provide other ancillary value (e.g. write better harnesses) because of their expertise, and then charge for that value
I'm probably missing a few bullet points also. However, none of those are moats (or at least not yet) ... I'd consider them more like bets. The frontier AI companies are betting "the house" on them, and if they pay off they could, hypothetically, make them financially competitive.
They are not betting the house, they are betting the American economy on it. When this crashes it will take everyone down.