The news about a request to slow down the development of artificial intelligence created nervousness among investors. Jacob Coxon, a former Anthropic worker, had left warnings about the dangers this technology may have for humanity, leading the CEOs of the major AI companies — OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI — to agree to slow down the development of the technology.
This situation made Wall Street attentive to signs that AI investments, particularly in the construction of data centers, may lose momentum. Chuck Carlson, CEO of Horizon Investment Services, told Reuters that a problem would be seeing data center construction contracts being cancelled, noting that something concrete needs to be seen indicating a slowdown and not just hearing speculation.
Investors are particularly concerned because Anthropic and OpenAI plan to go public in the future, and a pause in activities could raise questions about the market valuation of both companies. Carlson pointed out that shareholders will demand that they continue to grow.
This episode reminded many investors of the market problems in 2025, when China's DeepSeek AI model emerged. However, this time investors are assessing a broader set of risks, including the possibility of greater government regulation. This year alone, AI investments drove an 11% growth in the S&P500 index, and major US tech companies are expected to spend approximately $795 billion in capital expenditure.
