AI Stocks Slide After Industry Chiefs Call for a Slowdown

AI-linked shares fell across Asia on Monday after leading developers urged the industry to slow advances in model capabilities over safety concerns.

Reuters reported that SoftBank, a major OpenAI investor, dropped as much as 13.2% in early trading in Japan. Memory-chip maker Kioxia initially lost 9.8%, while SK Hynix fell 5.3%. Nasdaq e-mini futures declined 1.3% during Asian trading. These were intraday moves, not closing prices.

The selling followed a weekend appeal by Anthropic chief Dario Amodei to slow the pace of AI development. OpenAI’s Sam Altman and xAI’s Elon Musk said they agreed with him.

Altman also said OpenAI would not pursue an initial public offering this year, citing safety concerns, according to Reuters.

What investors are weighing

The sell-off puts a question behind the AI investment boom back in focus: how much of today’s valuation depends on uninterrupted technological progress? A slower timetable could change when investors expect returns, even if demand for AI remains strong.

Safety concerns and investment returns are different questions. Markets now have to weigh both.

Source: Reuters, 14 September 2026.

AI-generated editorial illustration; the line is symbolic, not a market-data chart.