US Treasury Secretary and former hedge fund manager Scott Bessent has dismissed concerns that the artificial intelligence investment boom poses a systemic risk to financial markets, despite growing investor unease over stretched technology valuations and debt-fuelled infrastructure spending, according to a report by the Financial Times.

Speaking at a closed-door investor conference in New York organised by JPMorgan Chase and the Robin Hood Foundation, founded by hedge fund billionaire Paul Tudor Jones, Bessent said he saw no evidence of systemic vulnerabilities associated with the surge in AI investment.

“I don’t see a systemic problem,” Bessent told Bridgewater Associates chief executive Nir Bar Dea during a 30-minute interview attended by hundreds of financial executives and investors.

His comments come amid renewed volatility in technology stocks, with investors questioning the sustainability of AI valuations and the growing volume of debt being raised to finance data centres and semiconductor infrastructure.

Bessent rejected comparisons with the dotcom bubble, pointing to the profitability of leading AI companies and the substantial personal stakes held by their founders and executives. He also reiterated his expectation that AI-driven productivity gains would provide a significant boost to the US economy.

The conference, which charged at least $7,500 per ticket, was closed to journalists and featured prominent hedge fund investors including Stanley Druckenmiller and Point72 founder Steve Cohen.

Bessent's participation raised questions about senior government officials addressing market participants in private. Former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told the FT that she had consistently ensured journalists could attend her speaking engagements to avoid perceptions of privileged access to market-sensitive information.

The Treasury Department defended Bessent's appearance, maintaining that his remarks had previously been made publicly and that the event had raised more than $1m for poverty relief.

The gathering comes as hedge funds and other institutional investors reassess their exposure to AI-linked equities amid concerns that elevated valuations and increasingly leveraged investment could amplify losses in a broader market correction.