Anthropic's legal AI release triggers market sell-off

Anthropic released AI tools aimed at legal work, and markets reacted with share-price declines for several legal-data and software firms, with some funds losing roughly US$300.6 billion in value, the article reports.

Anthropic released new AI tools intended to assist with legal tasks, and markets responded with broad share-price declines among companies tied to legal data and software. The tools were described as able to handle document review, risk flagging and compliance tracking. The move rekindled investor concerns about how large model providers might affect firms that build specialized products on top of those models. What is known: - The article reports Anthropic released a plug-in for its generative AI platform that it said can handle legal tasks such as reviewing documents, flagging risks and tracking compliance. - The article reports a market reaction that included two State Street SPDR ETFs tied to software, services and financial data losing a combined roughly US$300.6 billion in market value, and mentions share-price falls such as Thomson Reuters (down 16% on the TSX), CS Disco (down 12%), RELX (down 15%) and Wolters Kluwer (down 13%). - The article quotes industry figures who express differing views: some say specialized legal-tech firms offer services that are hard to replicate, while others warn that model providers could compete directly and reduce moats for product builders. Summary: The immediate impact was notable share-price declines for several legal-data and software companies and downward pressure on some technology indexes. Views differ on whether those moves will persist, and which types of firms will ultimately benefit or be challenged as AI tools evolve. Undetermined at this time.