The release and viral success of an AI-powered office agent pushed down software stocks and showed how much AI startups are challenging the incumbent tech sector.
Anthropic’s new Claude Cowork tool — itself developed with the help of AI — allows users to quickly build apps, edit and organize files on their computer, and sort through data.
It represents “just the type of capabilities that [software] investors have been fearing,” Bloomberg wrote. Software-as-a-service stocks are down 15% this year — Intuit had its worst week since 2022.
The market moves exacerbate the gulf between software makers, which haven’t seen much traction from AI features, and tech giants that have ridden the AI wave to record valuations.