{
  "id": 7308360,
  "title": "London software stocks enjoy ‘boon’ after calls for AI slowdown",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/14/london-software-stocks-enjoy-boon-after-calls-for-ai-slowdown",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-09-14T11:43:25.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/london-software-stocks-enjoy-boon-after-calls-for-ai-slowdown/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "London-listed software stocks surged on Monday after major AI companies called for a slowdown in the development of advanced AI models. Sage experienced the largest gain, climbing over five percent, while RELX also rose following support from Anthropic, OpenAI and Elon Musk. This positive movement helped London buck a wider sell-off in the technology sector. The FTSE 100 was slightly higher at 10,717 in early afternoon trading, despite sharp declines for AI-linked stocks in Asia and US tech futures.\n\nRuss Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, noted the stark contrast between the UK and Asian markets, attributing the difference to the fact that London's software stocks had been \"victims of the 'SaaSpocalypse'\". Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, described the prospect of an AI slowdown as a \"boon\" for the FTSE's software stocks. He explained that if AI giants reduce the pace of development, revenues for companies like Sage and RELX, as well as their SaaS peers globally, would improve.\n\nMatt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, stated that the UK had been relatively sheltered from the AI spending boom due to its minimal exposure to the chips and data centre infrastructure behind the boom. However, he cautioned against assuming that calls for safer AI would result in a sharp drop in investment, as slowing model release for additional testing is not the same as slowing investment required to build and run AI systems.\n\nMandeep Singh, senior technology analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, estimated that the initial training runs that AI developers might decelerate account for only 10 to 15 per cent of overall training spending. He suggested that more money could instead move towards enhancing existing models, including safety testing and the computing power required when answering complex questions. Despite this, Mould believed that any eventual pullback in spending by US tech giants could benefit London's market, as the UK technology sector has been largely outside the AI investment boom. He emphasized that if there is a slowdown in the AI race, the UK market could benefit on a relative basis as investors reassess the earnings growth and valuations attached to US technology giants.",
  "summary": "London-listed software stocks jumped on Monday as calls from the world’s biggest AI companies to slow development offered some relief to businesses previously seen as vulnerable to the technology. Sage climbed more than five per cent to rise the fastest among FTSE 100 firms, while RELX also rose after Anthropic, OpenAI and Elon Musk backed [...]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}