Apr 11, 2026
Over the past few months, celebrity short-seller Michael Burry sent jitters throughout Wall Street with his warnings of an AI-fueled bubble so massive that even government intervention won't save the market (1).
But one AI company Burry has been particularly harsh on is the data analytics darling Palantir Technologies, a data analytics firm known for selling software to governments and corporations to analyze large, complex datasets.
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In a now-deleted X post, Burry provided more context on why he's so down on Palantir's business. According to Business Insider (2), Burry argued Palantir is falling behind in the AI race — and pointed to a fast-rising rival he says is pulling ahead.
The AI rival Burry says is pulling ahead
That rival is Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind Claude, a chatbot similar to ChatGPT that businesses use for tasks like writing, coding and data analysis. Burry bluntly said that Anthropic is "eating Palantir's lunch," pointing to the former company's massive jump from $9 billion to $30 billion (3) in run-rate revenue over the past few months. Then Burry blasted Palantir for taking 20 years to hit the $5 billion mark.
To bolster his case, Burry cited data published by the financial automation provider Ramp (4) in March that showed Anthropic had its fastest monthly adoption rate of 4.9%, bringing its share to 29.4% in the Ramp AI Index.
This report also showed that Anthropic is becoming the preferred choice for businesses, with 70% of first-time buyers picking Claude over OpenAI's services. One in four businesses on Ramp claim to use Anthropic, a leap from one in 25 last year.
According to Burry, the AI market is a zero-sum game. So, as long as Anthropic keeps winning with simpler and more flexible solutions, names like Palantir supposedly won't profit as much.
While Burry's points are debatable, his comments definitely spooked shareholders. Palantir's stock fell roughly 9% (5) from about $154 to $140 when this X post came out on April 8 (6).
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Does the pessimistic prophet have a point on Palantir?
There's no question that Claude is killing it recently. Following widespread media attention with flashy Super Bowl ads (7) and a fiery feud with the Department of Defense (DOD) (8), TechCrunch (9) reports that paid subscriptions for Anthropic's Claude doubled in 2026.
Data published in Incremys also suggests 70% (10) of Fortune 100 companies are already using Claude in their operations.
All of these stats point to Anthropic being the ultimate AI plug-in powerhouse, but remember that Burry isn't an unbiased observer. SEC filings (11) in 2025 showed that his Scion Asset Management held a massive short position on Palantir's stock.
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In April 2026, Burry said he owns multiple put options on Palantir and that he's "not selling these today," per CNBC (12).
Also, Anthropic is still a private company, so we can't see all the details of its operations like we can with Palantir.
Even Burry admitted (13) that Palantir's government contracts — including a $10 billion deal (14) with the U.S. Army — add credibility to the company.
And those big government contracts mean Palantir has promoters in very high places, including the president.
On April 10, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social (15) to help pump support for Palantir, writing, "Palantir Technologies (PLTR) has proven to have great war fighting capabilities and equipment."
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That post helped Palantir's share price recover a bit, climbing from $123 to roughly $128 after President Trump published it.
How to hedge against headline risk
For investors, a practical takeaway from Burry isn't so much which AI company is the best choice. Instead, the volatility in Palantir's stock is a reminder of just how risky it is to bet on one name, even if that company has positives like government contracts and a solid balance sheet (16).
Facts and feelings change fast with such a disruptive technology. Sure, Claude is doing well now, but that could all be undone with one unforeseen development.
Concentrating your portfolio in one company means you're betting on very specific assumptions rather than general growth for the industry. If plans don't play out or sentiment suddenly sours, the downside can be sharp.
Rather than taking on that kind of risk, diversification is a tried-and-true strategy to temper volatility. Instead of trying to pick one winner, you can spread exposure in industries like tech with ETFs or mutual funds.
Also, don't forget to focus on fundamentals over headlines. Boring features like customer retention and healthy margins probably won't feel important in the heat of the moment, but they matter more over the long term than someone's opinion.
Keeping these principles in mind can help you strategize your portfolio and avoid rash decisions like panic selling if one of your choices becomes a social media target.
Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
Business Insider (1, 2, 13); Anthropic (3, 8); Ramp (4); Investing.com (5, 6); Forbes (7); TechCrunch (9); Incremys (10); U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (11); CNBC (12); U.S. Army (14); Truth Social (15); Palantir (16)
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Eric Esposito is a freelance contributor on MoneyWise with an interest in financial markets, investing, and trading. In addition to MoneyWise, Eric’s work can be found on financial publications such as WallStreetZen and CoinDesk. When not researching the latest stock market trends, Eric enjoys biking, walking his dog, and spending time with family in Central Florida. Eric holds a BA in English from Quinnipiac University.
