Wall Street's AI Panic: Nvidia, Intel Tumble as Trump Rips Into Anthropic's 'Slow Down' Chief
A blunt warning from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei that AI is outrunning human control triggered a chip-stock bloodbath and a furious Trump tirade — just as the Fed opens a knife-edge rate meeting.
Wall Street took its worst AI-driven hit in months on Monday after Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei published a blunt warning that artificial intelligence is advancing faster than humans can control it — and President Trump responded by tearing into him on Truth Social.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tumbled 5.9%, with Nvidia sliding 3.4% and Intel dropping 5.6%, according to Bloomberg's markets wrap. The S&P 500 slipped 0.5% and the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.8%, with the selloff dragging AMD and Broadcom down alongside the two chip giants, per 247wallst's trading recap. The 10-year Treasury yield briefly topped 5% for the first time since 2023, adding to the pressure on richly valued tech stocks.
What set it off
The trigger was a 4,000-word essay from Amodei titled "We Must Pace the Frontier," in which the Anthropic CEO argued AI capabilities are approaching a point where humans could lose meaningful control, and warned of growing risks from AI-assisted cyberattacks and bioweapons research. He called for international cooperation and third-party safety evaluators embedded inside frontier labs. The essay was quickly echoed by OpenAI's Sam Altman and Elon Musk, according to NPR.
Trump was having none of it. Speaking to reporters Sunday, he insisted the U.S. can't afford to cede ground to China, declaring "whoever wins AI wins." By Monday he'd escalated to a full broadside on Truth Social, accusing Amodei of "pretending to be a perfect little angel."
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The fight landed at a delicate moment for markets. Hotter-than-expected core inflation has traders bracing for the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting, which opened Monday and wraps Wednesday with a rate decision — with forecasters split on whether the Fed hikes, holds, or cuts, according to CNBC. Rising oil prices and the surge in bond yields compounded the pressure on chip stocks, which trade on expectations of years of future AI-driven growth.
The clash also complicates Anthropic's own path toward a stock market debut; the company is reportedly weighing an IPO even as its CEO argues publicly for slowing the industry down. Investors are now watching Wednesday's Fed decision, and whether the Trump-Amodei feud cools or escalates further, for the market's next move.