US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent told investors at a closed-door New York conference that he sees no systemic problem with the AI boom. His remarks came as markets faced turbulence over AI valuations and debt, and as a Treasury spokesperson responded to criticism of the closed event.
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent told investors in a private meeting that he did not see a systemic problem with the AI boom. He downplayed concerns that the industry is in a market bubble like the one that preceded the dotcom bust.
Bessent dismisses dotcom parallels
Bessent spoke on Wednesday to hundreds of finance executives and investors at a New York conference convened by JPMorgan Chase and Robin Hood, the non-profit founded by Paul Tudor Jones. Tickets cost at least $7,500, and the event was closed to the press.
Asked about AI by Bridgewater chief executive Nir Bar Dea, Bessent, a former macro hedge fund manager, said, according to three people present: "I don't see a systemic problem." He also said the boom is not Pets.com, one of the final tech IPOs before the dotcom bubble peaked in March 2000.
Markets question the AI surge
The comments arrive as financial markets have faced several bouts of turbulence in recent weeks. Some investors question whether the surge in AI stocks has gone too far, and they worry about the vast amount of debt issued to finance data centres and chips. Some analysts have drawn parallels between the AI rush and the dotcom boom.
In the 30-minute interview, Bessent was largely positive about how the technology would benefit the country. He added, however, that data centre and AI companies had done a poor job of relaying that to regular Americans.
Treasury defends the closed event
A Treasury spokesperson said the secretary is well aware of what constitutes material non-public information and that everything he said at the event had previously been stated in public.
Bessent's predecessor Janet Yellen only spoke at events where media was allowed to attend. However, there are no rules limiting the Treasury secretary from speaking to a large private group of market participants.
Source: Financial Times
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