Nearly $1 trillion has been wiped off the value of software and services stocks following the so-called Claude crash. Photograph: Timothy Clary/AFP via Getty ImagesThe dominant narrative in recent years has cast artificial intelligence (AI) as unambiguously bullish. Software stocks are now testing that assumption. It’s been a very bloody week for the latter, with nearly $1 trillion from software and services stocks wiped out following the so-called Claude crash, sparked by Anthropic’s release of new legal and enterprise tools linked to its Claude chatbot. Shares in Salesforce, which employs more than 2,500 people in Ireland, had already lost some 40 per cent of their value even before the Claude crash.

Source: The Irish Times February 07, 2026 16:30 UTC