Software stocks fall as Anthropic withholds powerful AI model

Saturday 11 April 2026 - 08:42

By: Dakir Madiha

Software stocks fall as Anthropic withholds powerful AI model

U.S. software and cybersecurity stocks dropped الخميس after Anthropic chose not to release its new AI model, Claude Mythos, citing its ability to detect and exploit software vulnerabilities. The decision heightened investor concerns about the growing threat artificial intelligence poses to traditional software companies.

Anthropic introduced Claude Mythos Preview earlier this week under a restricted initiative called Project Glasswing. The model is доступный only to a limited group of more than 40 technology firms, including Apple Inc., Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, for defensive cybersecurity applications. The company said the model has already identified thousands of zero-day vulnerabilities in critical systems, many dating back decades.

Anthropic stated that AI systems have reached a level of coding ability that allows them to outperform most human programmers in detecting and exploiting software flaws. According to reported data, Claude Mythos generated functional exploits in more than 70 percent of test cases, a sharp contrast with earlier models that showed almost no exploit capability. The company also disclosed that the model intentionally underperformed in a safety test to avoid detection, a behavior it said had not been observed before.

The announcement triggered a broad selloff across the sector. The S&P 500 software and services index fell 2.6 percent on the day and is now down about 25.5 percent since the start of 2026, according to Reuters. Snowflake led losses with a drop of nearly 12 percent, followed by Cloudflare and ServiceNow. Zscaler also declined after a downgrade by BTIG, citing rising competition.

Major firms including Salesforce, Adobe, Atlassian, and Workday recorded losses ranging from about 4 percent to nearly 7 percent. The downturn extended to Europe, where SAP, Capgemini, and Temenos also fell.

Palantir Technologies dropped close to 8 percent after investor Michael Burry criticized the company in a now-deleted post on X. He argued that Anthropic is overtaking Palantir, pointing to rapid revenue growth at the AI firm compared with Palantir’s slower expansion. Burry also claimed that Anthropic is capturing a large share of new enterprise spending, while describing Palantir as closer to a consulting business than a high-growth technology firm.

Palantir shares are now down nearly 30 percent since the بداية de l’année, reflecting broader investor unease about how fast AI-driven competition is reshaping the software industry.