Alphabet's ad slowdown and Anthropic's IPO test the AI money machine (opens the source in a new tab)
- The FT's Lex column says Alphabet lost nearly half a trillion dollars of market value after ad sales slowed unexpectedly: AI answers leave less room for ads, and data-centre spending is outrunning cash. Lex still thinks the AI lead can be won back.
- A John Thornhill column says Anthropic's IPO Initial public offering: when a company first sells its shares on a stock exchange. pits fear of missing out against fear of messing up. The filing shows first-half revenue of $16.3bn and an $80.7bn net loss, mostly non-cash, Xinhua reports, plus large non-cancellable compute deals.
Why it matters Two worries meet: AI may eat the ad profits that pay for AI, and the newest labs fund their build-out with promises to pay for chips later. Public markets now have to price both.
Other side Both columns concede the upside: AI leadership has flipped quickly before, and Anthropic's revenue growth is remarkable. A sharp share drop or a pricey IPO is not proof the boom is a bust.