The machine vision market is experiencing an unusual split. Despite steady year‑over‑year growth in system sales, public market valuations tell a different story. Several major machine vision companies have seen their stock prices decline by 21% to 78% over the past five years, even as leading AI companies have surged more than 100%. This divergence suggests that the industry is separating into two distinct segments. On one side are proven, production‑grade systems—fixed installations that deliver clear value and continue to sell. On the other is an emerging “no‑man’s‑land” defined by commoditized sensors and a small number of dominant AI players, leaving many traditional vendors squeezed in the middle. This presentation explores what the next-generation machine vision landscape may look like as these forces reshape the industry.