Burry Says a Market Crash Blocking OpenAI and Anthropic IPOs Would Help Humanity

Famous short seller Michael Burry thinks a market crash that stops OpenAI and Anthropic from going public would actually be good for humanity. He says the two companies would pull in trillions of dollars and then destroy that money, and that's only the smallest damage they could do.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently said an IPO in 2026 doesn't make sense because of AI safety concerns. But a prospectus shows Anthropic will likely go public after the US midterm elections in November. An IPO would give both companies more funding sources.

Burry said this week he is more sure than ever that his bearish AI call will come true in the next year, earlier than his previous 2028 estimate. He has adjusted his short bets on Nvidia, Palantir, Micron, Oracle and the Nasdaq 100, saying debt-fueled chip and data center spending is unsustainable.

Still, AI stocks have hit record highs this year, and investors have mostly ignored these worries.