Melvin(@MelvinInvests):Another SaaS sell off is just inevitable at this point because of the rise of AI agents. Goldman Sachs expects the software profit pool to shift heavily toward AI agents, with the agent market growing to more than $50 billion by 2030 while traditional SaaS falls from roughly $30 billion to around $20 billion. This does not mean software is disappearing but the overall market could actually become larger, but more of the money is expected to move away from traditional SaaS products and toward the agents operating them. Today, businesses pay monthly fees for employees to use Salesforce, ServiceNow, Workday and dozens of other applications but agents can move across those applications and complete the work themselves. Instead of opening several programs, the user simply explains the desired outcome. The agent becomes the main interface, while the software underneath turns into a tool working quietly in the background. This puts pressure on the traditional per seat model because companies may not need as many employees actively using each application. It also weakens customer lock in because users become more loyal to the agent than to the software it operates. Yes, I know many large software companies now offer usage based pricing alongside their legacy seat based models. That should help them adapt as customers move toward paying for completed work rather than software access but the market rarely makes that distinction during a major sell off. If investors begin dumping SaaS stocks because they fear AI agents will weaken seat growth and pricing power, even the strongest software giants will probably get grouped into the same trade and sold alongside the weaker companies. We already saw broad software weakness when new agent products raised similar concerns earlier this year. Muse will be the next catalyst because it is bringing personal agents to a much larger audience. Once regular users become comfortable allowing one agent to work across multiple applications, investors will begin questioning how many separate subscriptions and paid seats businesses truly need. OpenAI and Anthropic will likely respond soon their own version of Muse very soon. And once Muse, OpenAI and Anthropic begin competing to control the user’s entire workflow, SaaS companies will no longer compete only against other software products but also compete against the AI agents deciding which software gets used in the first place. Not every SaaS company will lose because those with proprietary data, deep integrations and strong usage based models should be more defensible but if another broad SaaS sell off begins, the market may not care about those differences at first. The weaker companies will fall and the giants will likely get dragged down with them. If you enjoyed reading this, make sure to follow me @MelvinInvests for more and I’ve already started positioning my portfolio around what I think is coming next as AI agents begin reshaping the software stack. If you want to see exactly what I’m holding, what I’m avoiding, and how I’m positioned for this shift, you can check out my full Milk Road portfolio using the link below.

2026.09.23 13:37

Another SaaS sell off is just inevitable at this point because of the rise of AI agents. Goldman Sachs expects the software profit pool to shift heavily toward AI agents, with the agent market growing to more than $50 billion by 2030 while traditional SaaS falls from roughly $30 billion to around $20 billion. This does not mean software is disappearing but the overall market could actually become larger, but more of the money is expected to move away from traditional SaaS products and toward the agents operating them. Today, businesses pay monthly fees for employees to use Salesforce, ServiceNow, Workday and dozens of other applications but agents can move across those applications and complete the work themselves. Instead of opening several programs, the user simply explains the desired outcome. The agent becomes the main interface, while the software underneath turns into a tool working quietly in the background. This puts pressure on the traditional per seat model because companies may not need as many employees actively using each application. It also weakens customer lock in because users become more loyal to the agent than to the software it operates. Yes, I know many large software companies now offer usage based pricing alongside their legacy seat based models. That should help them adapt as customers move toward paying for completed work rather than software access but the market rarely makes that distinction during a major sell off. If investors begin dumping SaaS stocks because they fear AI agents will weaken seat growth and pricing power, even the strongest software giants will probably get grouped into the same trade and sold alongside the weaker companies. We already saw broad software weakness when new agent products raised similar concerns earlier this year. Muse will be the next catalyst because it is bringing personal agents to a much larger audience. Once regular users become comfortable allowing one agent to work across multiple applications, investors will begin questioning how many separate subscriptions and paid seats businesses truly need. OpenAI and Anthropic will likely respond soon their own version of Muse very soon. And once Muse, OpenAI and Anthropic begin competing to control the user’s entire workflow, SaaS companies will no longer compete only against other software products but also compete against the AI agents deciding which software gets used in the first place. Not every SaaS company will lose because those with proprietary data, deep integrations and strong usage based models should be more defensible but if another broad SaaS sell off begins, the market may not care about those differences at first. The weaker companies will fall and the giants will likely get dragged down with them. If you enjoyed reading this, make sure to follow me @MelvinInvests for more and I’ve already started positioning my portfolio around what I think is coming next as AI agents begin reshaping the software stack. If you want to see exactly what I’m holding, what I’m avoiding, and how I’m positioned for this shift, you can check out my full Milk Road portfolio using the link below.

Melvin@MelvinInvests

2026.09.22 21:45

Another SaaS sell off is coming soon and I think the rise of AI agents will be the reason why. Agents like Muse and Grok are bringing AI agents to the consumer market in masses. What was recently experimental technology is becoming something regular people can use to complete real work across their applications. Grok Bot, for example, can operate software through its own cloud computer and continue working after the user steps away. This is a much bigger threat to software companies than a chatbot that only answers questions. Instead of opening Salesforce, ServiceNow and Workday separately, an employee can tell an agent what needs to be done. The agent can then move between those applications and complete the entire workflow. This means the agent becomes the main interface, while the software underneath becomes a tool working quietly in the background. That puts pressure on the traditional SaaS business model. If agents perform more of the work, companies may not need as many paid software seats across CRM, project management and customer support. Agents could also make switching between software providers easier. Once users interact with Muse or Grok instead of the actual application, they become less attached to that software. The agent could choose whichever service offers the best price or performance. That weakens customer lock in. The agent controls the user experience and decides which software gets used, while SaaS companies risk losing pricing power and their direct relationship with customers. We have already seen how quickly investors react to this threat. New agent capabilities from Anthropic contributed to weakness in software stocks earlier this year as the market questioned whether AI would help SaaS companies or replace parts of them. Muse and Grok could cause another sell off because they are making agents available to regular people. I also think this will force OpenAI and Anthropic to respond very soon. OpenAI has already shown where it is heading. Earlier this year, it hired Peter Steinberger, the creator of OpenClaw, to help build its next generation of personal agents. I am sure they are going to release something soon and then Claude will respond with their own version. If Meta, Grok, OpenAI and Anthropic all begin releasing more capable agents, SaaS companies will no longer compete only against other software products. They will also compete against the agents controlling how customers use those products. The most exposed companies will be those selling basic productivity tools, simple workflows and large numbers of employee seats. Businesses with proprietary data, deep integrations and strict compliance requirements should be safer but they too will be affected by this sell off. If you enjoyed reading this, make sure to follow @MelvinInvests for more.