Techs sell-off on Dalal Street as Anthropic’s AI-app takes on Indian IT majors’ business

MUMBAI: A tech sell-off on Dalal Street on Wednesday—that came on the back of Anthropic’s launch of a new AI-led app that could potentially challenge existing business models of Indian software exporters—wiped off about Rs 1.75 lakh crore worth of market value.

The sharp slide in sector leaders like TCS, Infosys and Wipro, also left BSE’s IT index down 5.5% at close of session. Despite the tech meltdown, sensex closed marginally higher, up 79 points or 0.1%, as strong buying in other index-heavyweights like Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank more than made up for the loss inflicted by the software exporters.

The global tech sell-off had started on Tuesday night that pulled the Nasdaq Composite index down by 1.3%. The bearish sentiment spilled over in other Asian markets on Wednesday, including in India.

According to Ravikumar S, CEO, Cognizant, one of the leaders in the software services space, Anthropic’s AI-driven application could penetrate enterprises far more deeply than classical or SaaS software ever did, leading to even more software being created.