Global AI stocks plunge as industry chiefs call to slow development

AI-linked stocks fell sharply worldwide on Monday after leaders of the biggest artificial intelligence companies warned of risks from rapid development — the starkest challenge yet to the billions poured into the industry that have driven markets to record highs. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, in a weekend essay, called on AI labs to slow the pace at which they advance model capabilities so safety work can keep up. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and xAI’s Elon Musk said they agreed with the call to “pace the frontier.” Investors fretted that an industry-wide slowdown could curb growth and chip demand: SoftBank sank about 10% in Tokyo, South Korea’s SK Hynix and Samsung fell more than 6% and 4%, Europe’s ASML dropped over 5%, and U.S. names including Micron, Intel and Nvidia sold off in early trade. The selloff piled onto already fragile risk appetite ahead of a widely expected Federal Reserve rate hike this week, with oil still above $100 a barrel after Middle East supply shocks. China dismissed the slowdown talk as “fear-mongering,” while Altman stressed that pacing “does not mean stopping.” Source: Reuters / CNBC Can AI labs really slow the frontier without crashing the market boom built on ever-faster models? https://www.reuters.com/world/china/ai-linked-asian-stocks-slump-after-top-lab-ceos-call-slowing-down-technologys-2026-09-14/