> Without continuous training there is no inference product.

This claim deserves teasing apart.

Clearly, training is a Red Queen's race today. If a model provider were to unilaterally decide to stop training, they would very quickly lose market share to competitors with better models.

On the other hand, what if market and investment conditions change such that everybody has to stop training?

In that case, the models are still there and still as useful as they were the day before. So why wouldn't there still be an inference product?