Info Edge, eClerx, other BPO stocks plunge up to 10% after Anthropic's new AI tool launch

BPO stocks decline

• BPO stocks fell as Anthropic's legal AI tool triggered a tech selloff.
• eClerx fell 10%, Info Edge dropped 7%, others also declined
• AI progress sparks job loss concerns in BPO and tech sectors

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The shares of BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) companies plunged in trade on February 4, amid a broader tech selloff triggered by Anthropic’s launch of a new legal AI tool.

The shares of eClerx Services crashed nearly 10 percent to trade at Rs 4,459 apiece. Naukri.com-parent Info Edge shares plunged nearly 7 percent to Rs 1,166 apiece. The company provides BPO-related services primarily through its recruitment-focused divisions and subsidiaries like Quadrangle.

Firstsource Solutions and Hinduja Global Solutions shares dropped around 2 percent each.

What triggered the tech selloff today?

Wall Street ended yesterday's session sharply lower as investors remained concerned that AI was creating more competition for software makers, after Anthropic’s launch of a legal tool for its Claude AI chatbot.

AI developer Anthropic launched plug-ins for its Claude Cowork agent last week that can automate tasks across legal, sales, marketing and data analysis. The move has triggered worries of an impending AI-fueled disruption of the data and professional services industry, which were once seen as major beneficiaries of the AI era, according to traders and analysts.

Why are BPO stocks falling today?

BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) companies are specialized firms that handle non-core operational tasks for other businesses, such as customer support, finance, IT services, and human resources.

The improving AI technologies hold the possibility of replacing several human jobs, directly threatening BPO companies. “Anthropic launched new capabilities for its Cowork to the legal space, heightening competition,” Morgan Stanley analysts including Toni Kaplan wrote in a note on Thomson Reuters, as reported by Bloomberg. “We view this as a sign of intensifying competition, and thus a potential negative," they said.

“The significance of platforms now deploying AI-driven systems capable of executing complex SAP migrations and enterprise transformations in weeks—work that previously required years of human-led effort—cannot be overstated. This is not incremental automation; it represents a fundamental compression of time, cost, and manpower across core enterprise processes,” said Bhavik Joshi, Business Head, INVasset PMS.

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