> a toolmaker can't be making more money then the companies using those tools to make money.

In the historical gold rush, you also had speculators funding prospectors. That might just be personal savings, friends and family or investors. Similar to the current AI rush, you have VCs and corporate profits from companies pivoting into AI that, theoretically, could all go bust. But there still is a whole lot of capital to expend even if the investments are never profitable.