AI Stocks Fall in Premarket on Development Warnings; Rumble Surges on Reported Anthropic Deal

U.S. stock futures pointed to a sharply lower open on Monday, with the technology sector leading the decline after several prominent artificial intelligence executives called for a deliberate slowdown in AI advancement. As of 5:52 AM ET, Nasdaq 100 futures had slumped 531 points, or 1.8%, while S&P 500 futures dropped 0.8% and Dow futures fell 0.3%.

AI Sector Under Pressure

The sell-off in AI-related stocks follows public comments from industry leaders expressing concern over the potential risks of rapidly advancing technology. In an essay posted on X, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei urged AI companies to slow the pace of developing model capabilities, a sentiment echoed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and xAI chief Elon Musk.

The warnings have raised investor concerns that a more cautious approach could curb spending on the chips and data-center infrastructure that power the AI boom. In premarket trading:

• Chipmaker Nvidia fell more than 2%.
• Intel, AMD, and Marvell Technology declined by approximately 6%, 5%, and 6%, respectively.
• Tech giants Meta and Amazon each dropped more than 1%.

Conversely, some software stocks gained ground, with ServiceNow, Adobe, and Workday rising around 2.5% to 3%. The move suggests some investors believe a slower AI development cycle could reduce the immediate threat of disruption to their business models.

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Standout Premarket Movers

Despite the broader tech downturn, several companies saw significant moves on specific news:

• Rumble (RUM): Shares surged as much as 28% after a report from The Information identified Anthropic as the customer in a previously disclosed $13.7 billion computing contract. Rumble had announced the major deal in an August filing without naming the client.
• Scholar Rock (SRRK): The stock jumped 9.1% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its drug ISEMBYLD. The therapy is the first muscle-targeted treatment for spinal muscular atrophy in certain adults and children.
• Elmet Group (ELMT): Shares soared 30.8% after the company announced a $450 million committed investment from the U.S. Department of War to boost domestic tungsten manufacturing.

Other Notable Decliners

• Olema Pharmaceuticals (OLMA): The stock slid 15.1% after AstraZeneca announced its similar breast cancer drug, camizestrant, failed to meet its primary endpoint in a Phase 3 trial. The news raised concerns about the prospects for Olema's lead candidate, which is in a similar trial.
• MARA Holdings (MARA): The bitcoin miner's shares fell 5.7% after JPMorgan double-downgraded the stock to Underweight from Neutral. Analysts cited concerns about the company's capital-light joint venture strategy, arguing it captures only about half of the value created.