Global stock markets were shaken last week after a US-based artificial intelligence company, Anthropic, unveiled a new set of AI tools aimed at corporate professionals. The announcement triggered sharp sell-offs across software, legal, and financial services stocks, erasing nearly $285 billion in market value in just one trading session. Market watchers have dubbed the sudden downturn a “SaaSpocalypse.”
What is Anthropic’s new AI tool?
Anthropic introduced Claude Cowork, an advanced AI assistant designed for non-technical professionals. Unlike traditional AI chat tools, Claude Cowork is an agentic AI, meaning it can actively perform tasks rather than simply suggest them.
The tool can read and organize files, draft documents, generate reports, and execute multi-step workflows with user approval. It allows employees to automate complex office tasks without any coding knowledge, making enterprise-level automation accessible to a much wider audience.
Alongside Claude Cowork, Anthropic also launched 11 specialized plugins that allow organizations to customize the AI for specific business functions.
Why did the legal plugin alarm investors?
Among the newly released plugins, one focused on legal workflows sparked the strongest market reaction. This plugin can automate contract reviews, NDA triage, compliance checks, and legal briefings.
While Anthropic emphasized that the tool does not provide legal advice and that all outputs should be reviewed by licensed attorneys, investors remained uneasy. The concern is that such AI-powered automation could significantly reduce demand for traditional legal research platforms and enterprise legal software.
What triggered the Wall Street panic?
The sell-off reflects growing anxiety that AI tools like Claude Cowork could disrupt the subscription-based SaaS business model. If companies use AI to build internal tools and automate research, analysis, and compliance work, they may rely less on expensive third-party software and data services.
This fear prompted investors to rapidly exit positions in companies whose revenues depend heavily on enterprise software subscriptions.
Stocks hit by the sell-off
The impact extended far beyond legal technology. Software sector exchange-traded funds recorded their worst single-day decline since April. Several major enterprise software companies saw sharp losses, while financial firms with heavy exposure to software investments were also dragged down.
Although some stocks recovered slightly in the following session, overall investor sentiment remains cautious as markets reassess the long-term impact of AI on enterprise software businesses.
Renewed concerns over AI-driven job disruption
The market reaction has also reignited debate around AI’s impact on white-collar jobs. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has previously warned that artificial intelligence could displace a significant portion of entry-level professional roles over the next few years.
Other industry leaders, however, argue that AI will transform how people work rather than eliminate jobs entirely, shifting roles toward oversight, strategy, and decision-making.
Anthropic’s Claude Cowork is more than just another AI assistant. It represents a shift toward AI systems that can directly perform professional tasks, challenging long-established SaaS and enterprise software models. While the market’s reaction may prove excessive, the episode underscores a clear reality: AI is no longer a future threat — it is a present-day disruptor.
