Anthropic, OpenAI ‘Pacing’ Spooks Some Startup Customers

It’s not clear what impact the pledges by Anthropic and OpenAI to slow the pace of AI development will have on their upcoming public offerings. But the comments are having real effects already: more people outside Silicon Valley and Washington are now alert to potential risks from AI in a way they weren’t even very recently. That’s not great news for startups trying to convince consumers and businesses that the tech is worth it, some investors told me.

One venture capitalist, for example, told me about a startup that has recently found customers to be more wary of buying its AI app for small- and medium-sized businesses in the light of news stories about potentially catastrophic AI.