Memory Stocks Drop Amid Calls from Anthropic and OpenAI CEOs to Slow AI Development
Memory stocks are leading a selloff in the AI infrastructure sector following calls by Dario Amodei of Anthropic and Sam Altman of OpenAI for a slower pace of AI development. Micron (NASDAQ:MU), SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK), and SK Hynix (NASDAQ:SKHY) each fell around 6-7%, with the Roundhill Memory ETF dropping significantly more than broader tech indices like QQQ, indicating concentrated selling in memory-related assets. The CEOs' essays have been interpreted as a sentiment shock rather than an indication of structural changes to capital spending or model training budgets. No hyperscalers have announced cuts to their AI investments yet, but the market is reacting strongly due to the high expectations tied to memory stocks and their role in supporting AI infrastructure. Analysts suggest that while there's no immediate slowdown in orders for now, investor uncertainty about future demand has triggered a sharp sell-off. SK Hynix’s 7% drop highlights its critical position as NVIDIA’s primary supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in AI accelerators. The ETF structure further amplifies the impact on memory stocks since major players like Micron, SK Hynix, and Samsung dominate holdings.
Tickers: $DRAM $MU $NVDA $QQQ $SKHYV $SNDK
Topics: AI_development CEO_commentary memory_stocks stock_prices