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In less than ten days, Anthropic triggered two separate stock selloffs across enterprise technology. First, its Cowork agent shook IT services stocks. Then, late last week, it launched Claude Code Security, a tool that scans software for weaknesses and suggests fixes.
Billions were lost in cybersecurity stocks in a single trading session, with some of the biggest names in the sector falling 8- 9% in one day.
Analysts say the next wave of damage is already taking shape.
Mid-tier companies in developer tools, code-related security, and software firms across the US and India that simply added AI into existing products are seen as most at risk. “Point security or SaaS players with AI bolt-ons displacing IT and low-code platforms face high risk,” said Gaurav Vasu, CEO of UnearthInsight.
The numbers back that up. Motilal Oswal Financial Services has modelled a scenario where rapid AI-led pricing pressure over 12-18 months could lead to earnings cuts of around 10% across large-cap IT companies. Markets are already pricing in free cash flow growth of just 6.5% over ten years, well below earlier high-growth cycles.
UnearthInsight expects overall sector growth to slow to just 3-4% in FY27, with roughly 1.5 percentage points of that coming from acquisitions rather than real organic demand. Yet the overall market keeps growing. Gartner forecasts worldwide IT spending will reach $6.1 trillion in 2026 and $7.6 trillion by 2029, driven largely by AI investment.
The disruption, said Biswajit Maity, senior principal analyst, Gartner, is best understood as a massive restructuring of the technology industry driven by the intelligence supercycle. For companies that cannot keep up, the Accion Labs story may just be the start, where the digital engineering firm was seeking private equity investment of $800 million in September 2025. By February 2026, it was being acquired by PAG for $500-550 million. That is a 30% drop in under five months.
“Only those who restructure and show continued high growth will command good valuations,” Vasu said.
Standalone cybersecurity vendors face pressure from another side, too. Microsoft is bundling more security features into its existing products, with new pricing kicking in from July 2026, experts said. That makes it harder for smaller players to charge enterprise clients separately for tools they can now get as part of a package they already pay for.
Also Read: Fear factor: Claude Cowork, techies no work?
The reason these companies are at risk is that AI is not just making workers faster, but is breaking the logic of how enterprise technology has been priced and sold for decades.
“Traditional pricing models based on labor hours fail to reflect the value delivered to customers. Outcome and value-based models better align provider incentives with client success and are more resilient in an AI-driven environment,” said Biswajit Maity, senior principal analyst at Gartner.
In IT services, companies have long billed clients by the hour. AI reduces the number of hours needed, which directly shrinks revenue. UnearthInsight estimates that 12-15% of traditional hourly billing faces direct pressure from AI tools automating coding, testing, and routine application work. The shift is already underway on the ground. A recent survey found that 74% of service providers are already using generative AI to lower delivery costs and meet contractual obligations for cost reductions over time, according to Gartner.
“Enterprise clients now expect global and Indian IT services partners to pass on productivity gains through pricing or embedded solutions,” Vasu said.
In software, the pressure is coming from a different direction. Seat-based pricing, where companies pay per user, stops making sense when AI agents can do the work of many human users. Enterprises can also build their own tools more easily now, and smaller software firms can enter markets at much lower cost. “SaaS companies will have to move from seat-based pricing to outcome or output-based models to survive,” said Pareekh Jain, CEO of EIIRTrend.
Also Read: Explained: What is Anthropic's AI tool that's sparking job loss fears
Billions were lost in cybersecurity stocks in a single trading session, with some of the biggest names in the sector falling 8- 9% in one day.
Analysts say the next wave of damage is already taking shape.
Mid-tier companies in developer tools, code-related security, and software firms across the US and India that simply added AI into existing products are seen as most at risk. “Point security or SaaS players with AI bolt-ons displacing IT and low-code platforms face high risk,” said Gaurav Vasu, CEO of UnearthInsight.
The numbers back that up. Motilal Oswal Financial Services has modelled a scenario where rapid AI-led pricing pressure over 12-18 months could lead to earnings cuts of around 10% across large-cap IT companies. Markets are already pricing in free cash flow growth of just 6.5% over ten years, well below earlier high-growth cycles.
UnearthInsight expects overall sector growth to slow to just 3-4% in FY27, with roughly 1.5 percentage points of that coming from acquisitions rather than real organic demand. Yet the overall market keeps growing. Gartner forecasts worldwide IT spending will reach $6.1 trillion in 2026 and $7.6 trillion by 2029, driven largely by AI investment.
The disruption, said Biswajit Maity, senior principal analyst, Gartner, is best understood as a massive restructuring of the technology industry driven by the intelligence supercycle. For companies that cannot keep up, the Accion Labs story may just be the start, where the digital engineering firm was seeking private equity investment of $800 million in September 2025. By February 2026, it was being acquired by PAG for $500-550 million. That is a 30% drop in under five months.
“Only those who restructure and show continued high growth will command good valuations,” Vasu said.
Standalone cybersecurity vendors face pressure from another side, too. Microsoft is bundling more security features into its existing products, with new pricing kicking in from July 2026, experts said. That makes it harder for smaller players to charge enterprise clients separately for tools they can now get as part of a package they already pay for.
Also Read: Fear factor: Claude Cowork, techies no work?
The reason these companies are at risk is that AI is not just making workers faster, but is breaking the logic of how enterprise technology has been priced and sold for decades.
“Traditional pricing models based on labor hours fail to reflect the value delivered to customers. Outcome and value-based models better align provider incentives with client success and are more resilient in an AI-driven environment,” said Biswajit Maity, senior principal analyst at Gartner.
In IT services, companies have long billed clients by the hour. AI reduces the number of hours needed, which directly shrinks revenue. UnearthInsight estimates that 12-15% of traditional hourly billing faces direct pressure from AI tools automating coding, testing, and routine application work. The shift is already underway on the ground. A recent survey found that 74% of service providers are already using generative AI to lower delivery costs and meet contractual obligations for cost reductions over time, according to Gartner.
“Enterprise clients now expect global and Indian IT services partners to pass on productivity gains through pricing or embedded solutions,” Vasu said.
In software, the pressure is coming from a different direction. Seat-based pricing, where companies pay per user, stops making sense when AI agents can do the work of many human users. Enterprises can also build their own tools more easily now, and smaller software firms can enter markets at much lower cost. “SaaS companies will have to move from seat-based pricing to outcome or output-based models to survive,” said Pareekh Jain, CEO of EIIRTrend.
Also Read: Explained: What is Anthropic's AI tool that's sparking job loss fears