Summary · why it matters
AI-linked stocks tumbled on Monday after the bosses of Anthropic, OpenAI and SpaceX called for a slowdown in AI "reckless" development, citing fears the technology could soon run out of control. Shares in the semiconductor designer Nvidia, the world's most valuable company, were down 3.3% by market closing in New York City, while Advanced Micro Devices slid 4% and Micron Technology and Sandisk shares slumped by 5%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index fund was down 0.5%. The sell-off followed a weekend appeal by Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei for the AI industry to "slow down", support for his essay "We Must Pace the Frontier" from OpenAI's Sam Altman, Google DeepMind's Demis Hassabis and SpaceX's Elon Musk, and a dismissal of AI controls by Donald Trump as a "sick conspiracy". SoftBank, a big backer of OpenAI, slumped 13%, the South Korean Kospi index dropped 3%, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company fell 1.2% and the Dutch manufacturer ASML slumped 6%, while shares threatened by AI rose, with WPP up 5% in London and Relx also up 5%. Amodei's warning came before reports that Anthropic is on track to be profitable this quarter, telling investors its adjusted operating income would be positive for a second quarter in a row as it prepares to list on the US stock market this year.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
ASML Holding N.V.
Micron Technology Inc
Sandisk Corp
SoftBank Corp.
SoftBank Group Corp.
RLX Technology Inc
WPP PLC