“The way my smile dropped” — Netizens react hilariously to viral meme mocking AI companies' branding

The internet has collectively lost it over a now-viral meme asking one very serious design question: “Why do AI company logos look like buttholes?” What started as a cheeky observation quickly spiraled into a full-blown internet roast session, with users sharing side-by-side comparisons, deep dives, and genuinely hilarious hot takes.

The tweet in question gained traction thanks to a quote retweet from @fatfabfeminist, who simply wrote “real journalism” in response to the meme posted by @elektromorr.

And most funnily, user @_Keja_ added in the original tweet's comments,

"The way my smile dropped"

And honestly? The analysis does go deep. Very deep. From overlapping loops and cosmic swirls to abstract swirly spirals, the logos of today’s hottest AI startups all seem to be locked in an unspoken contest for most accidentally anatomical. Designers: you okay, babes?

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Why do so many AI company logos look like… that? Netizens weigh in with jokes, screenshots, and design critiques.

The internet, upon discovering that AI company logos might all secretly resemble a certain… orifice, collectively lost its mind. Graphic design Twitter spun into overdrive, and the meme machine kicked into full gear.

@LAMPTOWNE set the tone perfectly with a Community-core roast:

“clearly they took some inspiration from Community”

— Attached was a screenshot of Dean Pelton proudly waving a flag with “ANUS” written across it. If the shoe fits.

Then came the sharp-eyed sleuths:

“wait till they see this😭"-@realonx1

“Deepseek is winning here” -@fanofaliens

“poor perplexity, it’s the only one that stands out” -@nikewrayy

The amateur philosophers made their entrance too:

“ai just analyzes data and there is no analysis without anal. hope that answers your question.” -@0xNikstein

“They all trying to replicate something like a black hole or a galaxy or a universe süüü” -@Erkonyx

Because clearly, this is about space, not sphincters. Right?

Of course, not everyone was on board the spiral slander express:

“most of these are MASSIVE stretches” -@bonkers6222

“Peak journalism is back on track” -@nasikornettelor

— ironic? Sincere? Hard to tell. But either way, Pulitzer, when?

In short, the timeline delivered its usual cocktail of chaos, cosmic metaphors, and deep design dissection. Whether fans were cracking up, defending their favorite spirals, or just trying to make it through the thread without spiraling themselves, one thing’s clear:

Once you see it, you absolutely cannot unsee it.

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Behind the Spiral: What’s really going on with these logos?

The rabbit hole (or is it a black hole?) doesn’t end with memes. The logos under fire belong to real, well-funded AI companies — think DeepSeek, Perplexity, Orby, Mistral, and OpenPipe — many of whom are backed by serious VC cash and boast lofty missions to reshape the world through artificial intelligence.

So why the butthole aesthetic?

A growing number of AI branding efforts rely on swirling, central-point designs — meant to symbolize complexity, data flow, or cosmic intelligence. But when multiple startups converge on similar tropes (looped lines, concentric gradients, galactic spirals), the result is... well, a branding black hole of originality. It's not just unfortunate design — it's convergent design evolution. Or, less generously, same template, different startup.

Interestingly, this whole saga also opens up a rare critique of AI that's not about ethics, bias, or sentience — but about vibes. The logos represent an over-polished, hyper-minimalist aesthetic that feels less like the future and more like a design intern fed a dozen Behance projects into Midjourney. The uniformity unintentionally mirrors AI’s own output — derivative, polished, and slightly uncanny.

As for the meme’s virality? It’s tapping into a bigger truth: People are tired of brands (especially those with AI in the name) taking themselves too seriously. A spiral may look sophisticated on a pitch deck, but on Twitter? It’s cannon fodder.