New Delhi- Growing concerns over the impact of artificial intelligence on the software industry triggered a decline in Indian IT stocks on Wednesday after US-based AI company Anthropic introduced an upgraded enterprise AI assistant capable of automating complete business workflows.
Investor worries that AI could replace large segments of traditional software services led to a significant market sell-off, now being referred to as the “SaaSpocalypse.”
According to reports, the new AI assistant is designed to automate various business functions such as legal document analysis, compliance monitoring, sales strategy development, marketing performance evaluation, financial reconciliation, data visualisation, SQL-based reporting, and enterprise document search.
The negative market sentiment was not limited to US technology firms. Shares of Indian IT companies listed in the US, including Infosys and Wipro, witnessed sharp declines. In the domestic market, Infosys shares dropped by 8.36 percent during intraday trading, while Wipro fell by 4.45 percent.
Global consulting firms such as Accenture and Cognizant also experienced losses nearing double digits. Major enterprise software companies, including Salesforce, Adobe, DocuSign, Workday, and ServiceNow, reported significant declines in their stock values.
Legal and data-driven service providers like LegalZoom and Thomson Reuters were also adversely affected due to rising concerns that AI-powered automation could disrupt professional software services.
Anthropic’s enhanced system features multiple automation plugins capable of executing complete operational tasks instead of merely supporting employees within existing software applications. This advancement could reduce the need for multiple software subscriptions by consolidating services into a single AI-driven platform.
“India is generally considered an anti-AI trade but remains a major provider of software services for US-based firms. However, overall sentiment toward software stocks on Wall Street has turned strongly negative, with Jefferies describing the situation as a ‘SaaSpocalypse’ and noting that investor sentiment currently reflects a ‘get me out’ approach,” said Vikram Kasat, Head Advisory at PL Capital.
Meanwhile, a group of US software stocks tracked by Goldman Sachs declined by approximately six percent in a single trading session, wiping out nearly $285 billion in market value.
With inputs from IANS