Microsoft shares MSFT came under pressure on Tuesday as Anthropic introduced new workplace tools that could increase competition in the enterprise software market.
A separate report highlighted the company’s concerns over a potential US ban on Chinese optical receivers.
The developments come as investors assess the impact of artificial intelligence on established software providers and the infrastructure needed to support the technology.
Microsoft is also among the cornerstone investors in Anthropic’s planned private placement, which will raise $26 billion alongside the AI company’s public offering.
Anthropic expands Claude’s workplace tools
Anthropic introduced Claude Whiteboards and Claude Sheets in beta and made Claude Dashboards generally available, expanding the range of workplace tasks that users can perform through its AI assistant.
Whiteboards is a collaborative tool that allows employees to brainstorm with Claude and turn ideas into documents or slide decks.
The feature can also integrate with platforms including Lucid, Miro, and Zoho’s Vani.
Claude Sheets allows users to build and edit spreadsheets with the assistance of the AI model.
Anthropic said the tool can make changes directly in spreadsheet cells while outlining each edit so users can track them.
Users can share sheets with colleagues and work on them alongside Claude.
The company said the current version offers basic spreadsheet functionality, with additional capabilities in development.
Files can be exported in XLSX or CSV formats or used with Claude for Excel.
The tool also connects with services including Airtable, Asana, monday.com and Smartsheet.
Claude Data, previously launched in beta as Claude Dashboards in October, allows employees to ask questions about company data stored in services such as Amazon Redshift, BigQuery and ClickHouse.
The new and updated tools are available across Anthropic’s paid plans.
Microsoft and Nvidia compete for market value
Microsoft shares fell 2.2% on Tuesday following Anthropic’s announcements.
Earlier in the session, Microsoft had overtaken Nvidia to become the world’s second most valuable company. However, Nvidia retook the title after Microsoft shares fell in the session.
Nvidia’s decline came amid broader uncertainty about the outlook for AI and an investigation into whether CEO Jensen Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence effort.
Anthropic’s planned IPO is expected to value the Claude developer at up to $1.4 trillion.
The company will also raise $26 billion through a separate private placement involving cornerstone investors, including Alphabet, Nvidia and Microsoft.
Separately, Goldman Sachs expects Anthropic to generate $685 billion in revenue by 2030, with more than $550 billion coming from enterprise sales.
Microsoft raises concerns over potential China import ban
Microsoft is also reportedly urging the Trump administration to reconsider a potential US import ban on new models of Chinese optical receivers, Reuters reported.
The Federal Communications Commission is drafting the proposed restrictions over concerns that the Chinese government could use the components to steal data, disrupt services or install malware.
Microsoft has argued that it needs the equipment to complete its data centre projects.
It has warned that slowing the US data centre buildout could allow China to gain an advantage in the AI race, the Reuters report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Microsoft currently has 35 data centre sites under construction in the US, according to Cleanview data.
China accounts for most optical transceiver production.
Although US companies such as Coherent and Lumentum also manufacture the components, their production is not currently large enough to fully replace Chinese supply.
The Information Technology Industry Council previously urged the FCC not to include optical transceivers in the proposed restrictions, warning of potential disruptions to data centre deployment and US AI leadership.
The FCC is specifically considering restrictions on optical transceivers capable of delivering 3.2 terabits of data per second.
Production of these models is not expected to ramp up until 2028.
AI disclosure: AI tools assisted with research and drafting of this piece. An Invezz editor reviewed the facts, sources and wording before publication. Any opinions or analysis are Invezz’s, not those of an automated system.
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