AI-linked Asian stocks slump after top lab CEOs call for slowing down technology’s development

On Monday, AI-related stocks saw a sharp decline at the start of Asian trading, following a warning from top lab CEOs about the need to slow down the development of artificial intelligence. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, called for a reduction in the speed of model capabilities advancements due to growing concerns about AI misuse.

Elon Musk, who leads xAI, and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, both agreed with Amodei's stance. Altman later announced that OpenAI would not proceed with an IPO this year, citing safety concerns. Consequently, OpenAI's investor SoftBank's shares plummeted, falling up to 13.2% during early trading sessions in Japan. Additionally, memory chipmaker Kioxia experienced a 9.8% drop, while Tokyo Electron declined by 3.7%.

In Taipei, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) slipped by 1.2%, while SK Hynix in South Korea dropped 5.3%, and Samsung Electronics fell 3.7%. Takayuki Miyajima, a senior economist at Sony Financial Group, stated that selling pressure would likely impact AI and semiconductor-related stocks in Tokyo, given a series of weekend comments advocating for a slowdown in AI development progress.

Uncertainty surrounding the Middle East situation added to the market's unease. Shares in Shanghai's memory chipmaker CXMT fell 2.7%, and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation experienced a 1.4% decline. Hong Kong's Zhongji Innolight and Minimax also saw significant drops, with 4.1% and 5.4% declines, respectively.

Z.ai, the developer of the GLM AI series, saw its shares tumble by up to 10.5% following a discounted share placement. The growing alarm over AI's potential harm was highlighted by Anthropic's release of a threat intelligence report on Thursday, detailing various actors using its Claude AI models for weapon development, cyber operations, surveillance, and fraud.

Furthermore, Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon's resignation added fuel to the fire, stating that AI builders earnestly believed the technology could bring about human extinction by the end of the decade. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressed that the risks of human extinction posed by AI were unacceptable.

While U.S. lawmakers have raised concerns about AI's rapid progress and called for new regulations, President Donald Trump's comments on Sunday comparing AI critics to negative forces, with unfounded scenarios, have raised doubts about the U.S. remaining the industry leader. The U.S. and Chinese governments are expected to hold AI safety talks as part of bilateral discussions this month.