TL;DR:
• C3 AI stock plummets 20% after CEO slams Q1 sales as "completely unacceptable"
• Revenue crashes to $70.3M from $87.2M year-over-year, losses balloon to $124.8M
• Siebel blames sales restructuring chaos and his autoimmune disease affecting vision
• Enterprise AI market faces reality check as adoption struggles hit leading players
C3 AI just delivered a brutal reality check to the enterprise AI market. The company's stock crashed over 20% Monday after CEO Thomas Siebel called preliminary Q1 sales results "completely unacceptable," revealing how even AI darlings aren't immune to execution failures. With revenue dropping to just $70.3 million from $87.2 million year-over-year, the meltdown exposes deeper cracks in enterprise AI adoption.
C3 AI just sent shockwaves through the enterprise AI sector with a stunning admission of failure that's reverberating far beyond its own stock price. The company's shares plummeted over 20% in Monday trading after CEO Thomas Siebel delivered an unusually blunt assessment of Q1 performance, calling preliminary sales results "completely unacceptable" in company statements released Friday.
The numbers tell a devastating story of enterprise AI adoption hitting real-world friction. C3 AI expects Q1 2026 revenue between $70.2 million and $70.4 million—a brutal 19% drop from the $87.2 million it reported in the same period last year. Meanwhile, operational losses are exploding to between $124.7 million and $124.9 million, nearly doubling from $72.59 million a year ago.
"Unfortunately, dealing with these health issues prevented me from participating in the sales process as actively as I have in the past," Siebel admitted in a company statement. The confession reveals how much enterprise AI sales still depend on founder-led relationships rather than product-market fit. Siebel announced in July that he was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease causing "significant visual impairment," triggering a CEO search process.
The timing couldn't be worse for the enterprise AI sector. While consumer AI companies like OpenAI and dominate headlines, enterprise players are struggling to convert AI hype into sustainable revenue. stumble comes as enterprise customers increasingly demand clear ROI from AI investments rather than betting on future potential.
