Michael Burry warns OpenAI and Anthropic IPOs could destroy trillions

By Splitfeed EditorialLast updated Oct 1, 2026, 04:40 UTC

On September 30, 2026, investor Michael Burry publicly stated that markets should "tank hard" to prevent OpenAI and Anthropic from completing anticipated initial public offerings, framing a potential market crash as being for the "benefit of humanity." His comments were widely reported the same day, with at least one outlet characterizing his position as a warning that AI IPOs could "destroy trillions" in capital. Burry offered no detailed breakdown of how that capital destruction would occur, at least not in the available reporting, leaving the specific mechanism of his concern largely unstated.

The remarks carry weight primarily because of Burry's track record. He is best known for correctly predicting the collapse of the U.S. housing market ahead of the 2008 financial crisis, a call that made him famous for identifying overvalued assets before broader markets recognized the risk. That history means his warnings tend to attract serious attention even when they are brief or imprecise. The central dispute here is whether OpenAI and Anthropic, both still private as of late 2026, are genuinely overvalued assets in the way mortgage-backed securities were in 2007, or whether concerns like Burry's reflect a misreading of the technology sector's long-term trajectory. Both companies going public would represent one of the largest capital market events in recent memory given their reported private valuations, and a public listing would expose retail investors to risks that currently sit mostly with institutional and venture backers.

None of the three camps, Pro-AI, Anti-AI, or Middle Ground, had published direct reactions to Burry's comments at the time of reporting. Pro-AI voices would typically argue that IPOs create liquidity and accountability, that public market scrutiny is a feature rather than a threat, and that concerns about AI company valuations are overblown given revenue growth. Anti-AI voices would be expected to amplify Burry's warning, pointing to it as confirmation that AI investment enthusiasm has produced a speculative bubble with real consequences for ordinary investors when it corrects. Middle Ground observers would likely focus on the gap between Burry's headline claim and the absence of detailed supporting analysis, treating the warning as a prompt for due diligence rather than a definitive verdict in either direction.

The argument Burry is implicitly making will be tested when, and if, either OpenAI or Anthropic files a prospectus with the SEC. A filing would surface revenue figures, loss rates, and governance structures that would let analysts and markets price the companies with far more information than is currently public, giving the debate a concrete foundation it currently lacks.