OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra has sent software shares sliding as the cocaine nose jobs of Wall Street rediscover their fear of AI disruption.
According to Reuters, Salesforce and Intuit fell about four per cent on 8 September, while ServiceNow dropped five per cent. The S&P 500 software and services index lost 1.4 per cent, extending its decline for a second consecutive session.
Investors appear worried that increasingly capable AI models could start eating into services sold by specialist software companies. OpenAI launched GPT-6 Astra on 4 September, pitching it as faster and able to handle more tasks than its previous models.
The outfit says Astra can tackle work including tax preparation, game development, architectural rendering, legal memo formatting and apartment hunting.
“Astra marks a new frontier in the speed, accuracy and safety of computer use,” OpenAI said.
Argent Capital Management portfolio manager Jed Ellerbroek said Astra had revived an uncomfortable trade that investors had seen before.
“Astra has kind of reignited the software disruption fears, and it’s resumed that old trend that we got used to for a while, where semiconductor stocks and data centre capex beneficiaries do well, while software stocks do poorly,” Ellerbroek said.
Semiconductor companies duly enjoyed a rather better day. Intel jumped nine per cent, while Qualcomm gained 3.2 per cent after striking an agreement with Amazon covering custom AI chips and related infrastructure.
The broader S&P 500 finished 0.58 per cent lower at 7,673.52 points. The Nasdaq slipped 0.32 per cent to 26,421.41, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.18 per cent to 52,786.07. The Fruity Cargo Cult Apple lost 1.2 per cent ahead of an event expected to feature its latest smartphone under new chief executive John Ternus.
Software shares had enjoyed a lift only days earlier after Snowflake raised its annual product revenue forecast and said AI demand was helping drive growth. That brief burst of optimism did not survive Astra’s arrival, with investors once again betting that AI infrastructure suppliers may profit while conventional software firms get their lunch eaten.
