An intriguing thought crossed my mind recently: With AI agents becoming more capable, is the SaaS industry dying? Then I realized I was using Cursor (an AI coding tool) and Claude (an AI assistant) – both SaaS products themselves.
Here’s the fascinating paradox: While AI is transforming traditional software, it’s simultaneously creating entirely new categories of SaaS. We’re not witnessing the death of SaaS, but rather its evolution.
Think about it:
1. AI infrastructure requires significant resources to host and maintain
2. Usage-based pricing aligns perfectly with AI’s computational demands
3. Regular updates are essential as AI capabilities evolve
4. Enterprise needs for security and compliance aren’t going away
What’s really happening is a transformation. Basic SaaS functionalities might be automated by AI, but this is creating space for more sophisticated SaaS solutions that orchestrate AI capabilities in novel ways.
The future isn’t AI versus SaaS – it’s AI-powered SaaS creating value in ways we couldn’t imagine before.