Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA, XETRA:NVD), Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL) and much of the semiconductor sector came under pressure after concerns over OpenAI’s growth cast doubt on demand for AI infrastructure.
Shares in Nvidia fell 3.3%, Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) dropped 4.2%, AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) declined 5.5% and Arm Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:ARM) plunged 7.4% following a report that OpenAI missed internal targets for both revenue and user growth.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the company behind ChatGPT fell short of a goal to reach one billion weekly active users by the end of 2025 and missed revenue targets for ChatGPT.
The report also said chief financial officer Sarah Friar had warned internally about the company’s ability to fund future computing commitments.
The report also said OpenAI’s board has stepped up scrutiny of its heavy data centre spending, questioning efforts to secure further capacity as growth slows.
Executives were said to now be pushing for tighter cost control, potentially tempering chief executive Sam Altman’s expansion plans ahead of a possible IPO.
In its response, OpenAI said any suggestion it is pulling back on computing investment is “ridiculous”.
Shares in Oracle, which has a partnership with OpenAI, fell 7.4% in premarket trading, reflecting concerns over demand for data centre capacity.
Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT), a major investor, slipped 1.45% after confirming changes to its agreement, removing exclusivity and revenue sharing.
Rising competition from Google and Anthropic has been weighing on OpenAI’s growth in recent months.
The sell-off comes after a strong run in semiconductor stocks and record highs for the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 at the start of the week, leaving the sector more sensitive to signs of slowing demand.