AI Anxiety Hits Private Credit Tech Stocks
An epic sell-off in the $3 trillion private credit market has exposed a dangerous new risk: AI disruption. For years, software companies were the preferred borrowers for private lenders, but new AI tools from firms like Anthropic now threaten to replace the very products these companies sell. As software stocks slide, major lenders such as Ares and Blue Owl are seeing their own shares fall. With experts warning that default rates could nearly triple, the once-booming private lending “gold rush” is facing its first serious stress test