Global AI-linked stocks fell on Monday after Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei called for the industry to slow the pace of AI development over safety concerns. South Korea's Kospi led declines across Asia, and Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to a weaker Wall Street open. Chipmakers and OpenAI-linked names took the heaviest hits.
South Korea's Kospi dropped 3.3% on Monday, leading declines across Asia, after the biggest AI companies called for a slowdown in the technology's development following days of warnings over its safety.
Wall Street braces for a lower open
Nasdaq 100 futures were down 1.3% ahead of the New York open, while Japan's Nikkei 225 weakened 0.8%. The Stoxx Europe 600 tech sub-index fell more than 1% in early European trading, with tech stocks among the region's worst performers.
AI industry calls for a pause
Amodei issued a call over the weekend for the companies at the vanguard of AI to coordinate on managing its development and promoting safety, and OpenAI's Sam Altman backed the move. The pressure had been building since a researcher at Anthropic resigned last week, warning over the risks the company and OpenAI were taking in their race to stay ahead.
Chipmakers and OpenAI-linked shares slide
Shares in Japan's SoftBank, which owns about 13% of OpenAI, tumbled as much as 13%, and chipmaking giant ASML fell 4% in early European trading. Memory-chip makers were hit hardest: Kioxia and SK Hynix dropped more than 6%. Samsung Electronics fell more than 4%, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company lost 1.2%. In Hong Kong, shares of Chinese AI start-ups Z.AI and MiniMax slipped 6.2% and 5.5% respectively. Analysts put Z.AI's fall down to its weekend announcement that it planned to raise more equity and debt.
OpenAI valuation slips on IPO doubts
The initial public offering fallout reached beyond listed markets: broker IG's OpenAI Pre-IPO market-cap contract, which had rallied to $1.64tn, fell back to $1.57tn, a pullback of about $70bn. The safety furor also risks complicating Anthropic's own planned IPO, expected this year, in a market that has been powered higher by the AI boom since 2022.
According to Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid: "the extraordinary AI investment cycle might eventually moderate", the global head of macro research said, framing the question now facing markets.
Sources: Financial Times, The Guardian
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