As of April 2025; TBU in August 2025
The leap isn’t AI that thinks -- it’s AI that does. Agents can disrupt even AI-native companies by owning the action layer, not just the insight.
Platform shifts don’t just change technology -- they reshuffle the leaderboard. AI is doing to software what the internet did to print. Incumbents rarely survive the translation intact.
There’s a difference between being AI-first and AI-native. AI-first adds a layer. AI-native rebuilds the stack--workflow, UX, GTM--around what AI makes newly possible.
Every sufficiently large TAM supports multiple winners. Market leaders validate the opportunity and educate customers -- but that momentum often creates space for challengers with sharper focus, better distribution, or a more opinionated product.
Think Anthropic vs. OpenAI. HubSpot vs. Salesforce. Slack vs. Teams. Spotify vs. Apple Music.
Being second isn’t necessarily a weakness -- it’s a valid and winning strategy. Without the weight of legacy, challengers move faster, obsess over users, and punch above their weight.
A big enough market isn’t just wide**--it’s deep.** Different segments (by size, vertical, geography, workflow) create space for focused players to win, even when a generalist is ahead.
$1B TAM is less interesting than a sharp $75M wedge product addressable SAM -- it shows sufficient ability to grow inside of core product before complicating development or GTM workflows