Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, supported by OpenAI's Sam Altman and xAI's Elon Musk, has called for a more measured pace in the development of advanced AI models and increased safeguards, including independent third-party evaluations. This has led market watchers to anticipate that semiconductor makers and other AI-linked stocks may face an initial sell-off and near-term pressure. The Nasdaq 100 has already dropped over 4% from its June record, while a US chip-stock gauge has slumped 14%, and Asian tech stocks have slid almost 8% in the same period.
Despite the immediate concerns, market observers and investors largely believe that the longer-term AI trade will remain intact. The demand for chips, energy, and computing power continues to outstrip supply, and spending on AI infrastructure, such as processors, memory, networking equipment, cooling systems, data centers, and power capacity, remains robust. Many of these projects are already underway, limiting how quickly a slower model development cycle might impact spending plans.
Some analysts, like Billy Leung of Global X Management, suggest that a slower development timeline could actually be beneficial, as it extends the development cycle and allows companies more time to monetize existing infrastructure. Similarly, Charu Chanana of Saxo Markets noted that responsible development could make the AI opportunity more durable, even if the pace of progress slows. She also expects increased investment in cybersecurity and AI monitoring tools as a result of new safeguards.
However, tech stock valuations are under increased scrutiny, particularly as investors firm up bets on a US Federal Reserve rate hike in September, which could lead to higher borrowing costs. This sensitivity to interest rate changes, combined with the calls for a slower AI development pace, could keep semiconductor and AI shares vulnerable to shifts in spending expectations or earnings. SK Hynix-linked perpetual futures, for instance, were down approximately 2.5% on Sunday, offering an early indication of investor caution.
