Cathie Wood blamed Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei for many of this years gloomy artificial intelligence (AI) headlines. Her own venture fund backs Anthropic.
On November 5, the Nasdaq fell 5.52% after Democrats swept the midterms and investors feared limits on data centers. Voters backed restrictions in 39 of 45 data center ballot measures.
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Why Cathie Wood Turned on Anthropics CEO
In ARK Invests monthly video on Friday, Wood said Amodeis warnings of massive job losses and a 10% chance of human extinction within a decade fed the negative headlines.
“I can‘t understand why he’s been saying it,” she said.
She also cited Ramp data showing the top 1% of companies spend nearly $10,000 per worker a month on AI. Most spend $15, a gap she says shows AI is still early.
AI spending among US companies is accelerating:
The top 1% of US businesses spent a record median of $7,400 per employee per month on AI in July, according to Ramp.
This compares to a record $650 per employee for the top 10% of businesses and $11.95 per employee for the median…
She expects a labor shortage, not job losses. The US added 165,000 jobs in October against 65,000 expected, and unemployment fell to 4.1%.
The fight is also about ARK‘s money. ARK’s website says its Venture Fund gives investors exposure to Anthropic, OpenAI, and SpaceX. Wood praised the “incredible success” of OpenAI and Anthropic.
That success needs data centers. UBS estimated that construction pauses could put about 30% of planned 2028 US data center capacity at risk.
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Goldman Sachs says states with potential restrictions account for roughly 45% of planned U.S. capacity, with Texas alone at about 25%.
Meanwhile, UBS estimates that about 30% of additional capacity through 2028 could be affected.
I think 2028 will be the most critical year,…
What Amodei Actually Warned About
In May 2025, Amodei warned AI could wipe out half of entry-level office jobs and push US unemployment to 10% to 20% within five years.
The extinction figure, however, is not his. Axios attributed odds above 10% to Evan Hubinger, who leads Anthropics team on keeping AI safe.
“We really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans,” Axios reported.
Amodeis own estimate, given to Axios in 2025, is a 25% chance that things go “really, really badly.”
Wood did concede that electricity prices have gone up.
Since 1958, US stocks have usually gained roughly 13% to 14% in the year after a midterm, she noted. Fundstrats Tom Lee has also urged investors to buy the AI dip.
The sell-off has already spilled into Asian markets. For AI shareholders, the next signal is whether states turn those ballot votes into construction pauses.