‘Big Short’ trader Steve Eisman: It's very clear Anthropic's revenue growth has slowed dramatically

Steve Eisman, former senior portfolio manager at Neuberger Berman, challenges the narrative of existential risk promoted by AI leaders like Sam Altman and Dario Amodei, characterizing their warnings as a strategy for regulatory capture. Eisman argues that current AI models are merely sophisticated word-retrieval systems rather than sentient entities, and that industry leaders use "science fiction" hysteria to secure regulations that would protect their market positions against open-source competitors. He highlights a lack of sustainable business moats in the sector, citing reports that Anthropic's revenue growth slowed from 147% in the second quarter to 45% in the third quarter as "token maxing" efficiency declined. This financial deceleration, coupled with potential price-cutting, suggests a race to the bottom where high infrastructure costs outpace revenue gains, undermining the current valuation models of major AI labs.