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
1) Microsoft with their Office Suite. Office Suite is front-and-center about creative use cases. More so than tools like email marketing and customer service, where creative use cases complement the core solution, the Office Suite's core solution is predicated on creative use cases. Generative tech is a perfect fit with creative use cases.
2) Google with its dominance in Chrome. We often forget how big an enterprise position Google has as the default browser on which all cloud enterprise solutions are optimised to run. Yes, ChatGPT directly attacks search and search is a huge defense opportunity but the big offence play for Google is Chrome.
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...
I do not use the term 'super app' literally here. I do not mean the same form factor or apps sitting inside a super app as much as I mean a decision and/or creation hub through which other workflows are coordinated. I will share further in my next post and would welcome the feedback.
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?
The key question is whether GenAI can be bundled effectively with the current workflow. The cost of rearchitecting may or may not be an issue but that's an orthogonal axis. The axis I'd be looking at is whether GenAI can be effectively bundled to massively improve (collapse costs of) the core creative use case in the workflow. It's entirely possible for an incumbent to still win if the value of bundling is high even if the cost of rearchitecting is also high.
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
I feel the two players best positioned here are:
1) Microsoft with their Office Suite. Office Suite is front-and-center about creative use cases. More so than tools like email marketing and customer service, where creative use cases complement the core solution, the Office Suite's core solution is predicated on creative use cases. Generative tech is a perfect fit with creative use cases.
2) Google with its dominance in Chrome. We often forget how big an enterprise position Google has as the default browser on which all cloud enterprise solutions are optimised to run. Yes, ChatGPT directly attacks search and search is a huge defense opportunity but the big offence play for Google is Chrome.
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...
I do not use the term 'super app' literally here. I do not mean the same form factor or apps sitting inside a super app as much as I mean a decision and/or creation hub through which other workflows are coordinated. I will share further in my next post and would welcome the feedback.
Love this take.
Sangeet - how do you think this play changes with multi-agentic AI systems?
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?
The key question is whether GenAI can be bundled effectively with the current workflow. The cost of rearchitecting may or may not be an issue but that's an orthogonal axis. The axis I'd be looking at is whether GenAI can be effectively bundled to massively improve (collapse costs of) the core creative use case in the workflow. It's entirely possible for an incumbent to still win if the value of bundling is high even if the cost of rearchitecting is also high.
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? 🙂
Directionally, yes, but not literally.
Thanks for the callouts, edited.