RUM's $13.7B Compute Win Contradicts AI Safety Concerns

AI Fears Proliferate After Viral Social Media Post

Without the artificial intelligence boom, the U.S. economy and stock market would be much weaker than they are today. In fact, artificial intelligence capital expenditures and related tech investments currently account for roughly 50% of U.S. gross domestic product. Meanwhile, if Wall Street investors account for the indirect value-add, the impact is even more staggering. As a result of the AI boom, S&P 500 earnings are expected to explode 34% in 2026, more than double the 15% growth expected at the start of the year. How impressive is the current S&P 500 earnings growth? The U.S. stock market has never registered this magnitude of earnings growth outside of post-recession rebounds.

However, over the weekend, Jacob Coxon, a former OpenAI and Anthropic researcher and employee, sent fears into Wall Street investors and the AI trade with a viral social media post that read:

“I resigned from Anthropic today. I spent the last three years doing pretraining research at both OpenAI and Anthropic. Neither company is acting responsibly. They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives. Do not underestimate the power of this technology. These will soon be superhuman systems that can hack anything, revolutionize any field overnight, and acquire real power and resources. We have all witnessed the progress in each of these domains, and progress is not slowing. The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade. This is not a marketing stunt. If anything, many executives and senior researchers will couch their phrasing in the press to sound sensible - but I hear the same people express fear privately. No other human activity poses this level of danger.”

The post, shared on X, is one of the most viral posts of all time, registering 170 million impressions in five days. Meanwhile, several high-profile accounts responded to the X post. For instance, Senator Bernie Sanders argued that world leaders should ban superintelligence. Additionally, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that OpenAI has officially delayed its initial public offering until 2027, citing AI safety concerns. Nevertheless, on Monday, cybersecurity stocks such as Palo Alto Networks (PANW), Fortinet (FTNT), Okta (OKTA), and CrowdStrike (CRWD) soared on AI safety fears.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

As I wrote over the weekend, there is growing evidence that the viral “doomer” tweet is engineered panic aimed at achieving regulatory capture, not genuine concern. Despite the fear-mongering from AI leaders, it’s critical that investors read into what these CEOs are actually doing – not what they are saying. David Sacks, former “AI Czar” for the Trump Administration, made an astute observation:

“Dario (Anthropic CEO) has written that we need to “pace the frontier,” and Sam has agreed. People may be surprised by my response: go ahead. You guys are the frontier. By any reasonable metric – market share, revenue growth, model capability – the two of you have a duopoly on frontier intelligence.”

Anthropic Signs $13.7B Compute Deal with RUM Group

The latest evidence that the AI revolution is not slowing came on Monday when Anthropic signed a six-year, $13.7B compute agreement with Trump-linked RUM Group (RUM). RUM, which recently changed its name, is best-known for its Rumble video-sharing platform. Anthropic will lease AI compute capacity from RUM’s Maysville, Georgia data center, which is under construction with 120 MW of secured grid power and potential expansion to 180 MW.

Anthropic Compute Deal is a Gamechanger for RUM Group

While RUM has grown its revenue recently, the deal with Anthropic is a massive catalyst. As part of the deal, Anthropic gains the warrants to buy ~51M shares of RUM. RUM generated just $40.4M in Q2 revenue. For context, the total contract value is more than 300x its latest quarterly revenue.

RUM Trading Volume Signals Heavy Demand

On Monday, RUM shares soared more than 15%. However, the trading volume tells the real story. Monday will be RUM’s highest volume day in history, signaling insatiable demand from big money investors.

Bottom Line

Although AI safety warnings continue to spark fierce public debate and market volatility, AI companies’ underlying actions paint a vastly different picture. Wall Street investors must understand that capital commitments trump empty rhetoric and fear-mongering.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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