The emergence of DeepSeek is casting doubt on the power needs of AI—and on the stocks of independent power producers.

This week's announcement by President Donald Trump of a massive private-sector investment to build more AI data centers casts a spotlight on a relatively small and nimble class of cloud computing firms positioned to play a bigger role in the tech sector.

The reason why these stocks are being beaten down is that the DeepSeek news is causing investors to question how much money is being invested in AI hardware and data centers.

Early Monday trading saw sharp declines across the US stock market, triggered by the unexpected rise of a Chinese AI app, DeepSeek. Over the weekend, DeepSeek soared to the top of Apple’s app chart, sending shockwaves through industries tied to artificial intelligence.

Shares of U.S. power, utility and natural gas companies sold off on Monday in some of the biggest recorded one-day drops, as new AI technology from Chinese start-up DeepSeek cast doubt on a projected surge in U.