AI Software Shakeout Winners and Losers

Artificial Intelligence and AI agents are redrawing the competitive landscape of software and SaaS, with winners and losers.

This is the conclusion of a new RBC Capital Markets report warning that only incumbents are, and is not a guarantee of survival in the post-AI era. Innovation, not market share, determines who passes AI “Chasm”.

“Incumbents are not enough to ensure software companies thrive in a post-AI world. Innovation is paramount,” RBC analysts wrote in the report. “If incumbents were the most important factor, Sears, Smash hits, Burns and Noble were the main beneficiaries of the Internet, but new companies came in their place.”

Analysts scrutinised the software sector of companies with the right positioning around AI and the right innovation roadmap. They also identified other companies that “we are more uncertain.”

winner

Microsoft has broken through the RBC bullish list. Wall Street still underestimates the software giant's AI push. This touches every corner of your business, from Azure to offices, teams, dynamics, and LinkedIn. Our partnership with Openai, along with our diversified internal strategies, can accelerate growth over time.

Intuit was another standout. Long before CHATGPT, tax and accounting software companies were investing in AI. RBC highlighted the new AI agents from QuickBooks and Turbotax as evidence that Intuit is gaining more market share in the ripe automation industry.

Hubspot also received praise. CRM Challenger deploys chat spots, breeze and breeze intelligence, all intimately integrated with the generation AI. The culture of innovation and a unified technology stack have allowed Hubspot to steadily distribute against its larger rivals.

On the infrastructure side, Mongodb was chosen to handle key building blocks for AI applications, particularly unstructured data. RBC noted that some AI-Native startups already rely on it.

Pegasystems, on the other hand, is well suited to benefit from AI agents that increase the complexity of enterprise systems. Blueprint Workflow Builder, which allows businesses to modernize processes using natural language, could potentially expand the market significantly.

loser

According to the RBC, not all incumbents are keeping the pace. Salesforce's much-motivated AgentForce remains primarily in pilot projects, with limited indications of advanced AI capabilities. RBC warned that the product offers more automation than a true “agent AI” and raises doubts about its long-term competitiveness.

Zoominfo is probably facing the most existential threat, RBC analysts write. The risk of being commoditized by core products selling contact information, large language models. RBC compares AI pivot to its yellow page attempt to avoid Google, and raises questions about its persistence.

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