wondering what do you think about who's well positioned to play the OTT/WeChat role, any of the big tech? WeChat won by creating network first and then by adding payments and expanding in the app space / integrations space. I'm wonderign of what lessons we can learn and how we expect this pattern of OTT AI to play out given the current landscape
Very well said. I've been looking for angles to launch a startup with GenAI, but conceptually I keep running into the same roadblock that you've pointed out — that there's no convincing path to value capture, since incumbents will be able to effortlessly swoop in, in most cases.
> AI acts as a co-pilot empowering the user to coordinate across multiple existing Saas workflows. This is a particularly interesting category and could help create the next big super-app, especially in B2B.
I agree about the category, but disagree about a super-app winning. The only way an AI startup “wins” is by counter-positioning against SaaS incumbents, reversing their on-prem to cloud business model disruption (which you summarized brilliantly).
My best guess for what that looks like: lightweight open source agents running directly on end users agents, with a cheap upsell for an enterprise UI to manage everything. Might not create venture returns, but it is the only “oozification” (a la @venkatash_rao) I could see David using to defeat Goliath...
One of the things (I have a vested interest here, pinged you on WhatsApp) I'm wondering - how easy is it for incumbents to alter their workflows to incorporate GenAI in it? If including GenAI means fully rearchitecting your current product, is it easier for incumbents to do this or for challengers?
Great post! So what you have in mind is a sort of Zapier-like layer but for AI?
Also:
"Today, a variety of players ranging from ride-hailing apps to e-commerce apps sit inside Whatsapp’s super-app. Whatsapp wrested away the primary customer relationship away from these individual apps into its super-app"
Did you mistakenly write WhatsApp when you meant WeChat here? 🙂
very iIntresting as usual with your pieces :)
wondering what do you think about who's well positioned to play the OTT/WeChat role, any of the big tech? WeChat won by creating network first and then by adding payments and expanding in the app space / integrations space. I'm wonderign of what lessons we can learn and how we expect this pattern of OTT AI to play out given the current landscape
Very well said. I've been looking for angles to launch a startup with GenAI, but conceptually I keep running into the same roadblock that you've pointed out — that there's no convincing path to value capture, since incumbents will be able to effortlessly swoop in, in most cases.
> AI acts as a co-pilot empowering the user to coordinate across multiple existing Saas workflows. This is a particularly interesting category and could help create the next big super-app, especially in B2B.
I agree about the category, but disagree about a super-app winning. The only way an AI startup “wins” is by counter-positioning against SaaS incumbents, reversing their on-prem to cloud business model disruption (which you summarized brilliantly).
My best guess for what that looks like: lightweight open source agents running directly on end users agents, with a cheap upsell for an enterprise UI to manage everything. Might not create venture returns, but it is the only “oozification” (a la @venkatash_rao) I could see David using to defeat Goliath...
One of the things (I have a vested interest here, pinged you on WhatsApp) I'm wondering - how easy is it for incumbents to alter their workflows to incorporate GenAI in it? If including GenAI means fully rearchitecting your current product, is it easier for incumbents to do this or for challengers?
Great post! So what you have in mind is a sort of Zapier-like layer but for AI?
Also:
"Today, a variety of players ranging from ride-hailing apps to e-commerce apps sit inside Whatsapp’s super-app. Whatsapp wrested away the primary customer relationship away from these individual apps into its super-app"
Did you mistakenly write WhatsApp when you meant WeChat here? 🙂