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Atlassian CEO on the SaaS Apocalypse, AI Agents & What Comes Next

| 26 products mentioned
a16z a16z host
Watch on YouTube saas business models ai integration enterprise software pricing strategy ai agents workflow automation software valuation

Atlassian CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes and a16z partner Alex discuss the "SaaS apocalypse" narrative and why it's overstated, arguing that AI integration will strengthen rather than destroy software businesses. They break down three categories of SaaS companies based on pricing models and outcome-dependence, explaining how AI agents and workflow automation are fundamentally changing how software creates value—not by replacing it, but by making it stickier and more powerful.

Key takeaways
  • • Not all SaaS companies face equal risk; those with outcome-based pricing tied to actual work performed (like Zendesk) are more vulnerable than those with seat-based pricing for services people rely on regardless (like Workday).
  • • Systems of record—databases embedded with decades of business logic and edge-case handling—become more valuable in an AI era because agents need them to reliably execute tasks and workflows.
  • • The viability of vibe coding (using AI to build custom software) is vastly overstated; comparative advantage and the complexity of embedded processes mean most businesses won't replace established platforms.
  • • AI extensibility through platforms is more powerful than replacement—customers building custom apps on top of systems like Workday can solve specific problems (like Miami office HR policies) without needing large internal engineering teams.
  • • Pricing fairness and predictability matter enormously; SaaS models where customers understand what they pay for and feel it's proportional to value (like per-seat models) outperform opaque consumption or credit-based pricing that customers can't control.
  • • The real challenge isn't technology but design and user trust; making AI agents work in existing workflows requires solving how to iterate on outputs, maintain transparency, and avoid overwhelming users with choices.

Recommendations (4)

Predictably Irrational recommends

"There's this great book by Dan Ariely called Predictably Irrational. And I used to give it to all my product managers at my company."

Alex Rampell · ▶ 7:15

Check price →
Nano Banana 2 uses

"I don't know. Have you tried Nano Banana 2? It's really good. Right. So, one of my colleagues just said, 'Hey, for an American tourist visiting Japan, make an infographic about what to do and not t..."

Alex Rampell · ▶ 42:29

Carta
Carta uses

"Carta keeps track of cap tables for a lot of companies. I'd probably rather use Carta for that than like and they don't charge me that much money. Like sure I'll use Carta."

Alex Rampell · ▶ 22:33

Splunk
Splunk uses

"I have usage based pricing for Splunk. If I send them twice as many logs I pay more money. I get it."

Mike Cannon Brooks · ▶ 30:48

Mentioned (22)

Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word "Think of Microsoft Word without a toolbar but with chat only" ▶ 51:57
Decagon
Decagon "How many seats does a Zendesk customer need today if they're using Sierra Decagon" ▶ 9:09
Adobe
Adobe "And then there are things that are in the middle like Adobe" ▶ 10:56
Intuit
Intuit "I love Intuit, it's like TurboTax. Well, like the tax code is published, right?" ▶ 17:35
TurboTax
TurboTax "I love Intuit, it's like TurboTax" ▶ 17:36
Excel
Excel "Maybe the first time someone looked at Excel, they were like, 'Wait, where do I type the paragrap..." ▶ 53:19
Zendesk
Zendesk "Like if I'm Zendesk, I'm using Zendesk and they came up with a very clever pricing model" ▶ 7:06
Sierra
Sierra "How many seats does a Zendesk customer need today if they're using Sierra Decagon" ▶ 9:06
Salesforce
Salesforce "If you think of Salesforce, they charge for licenses. Like I think we have 600 people at our firm..." ▶ 25:38
Claude
Claude "Should I now Claude code myself some X" ▶ 20:53
AWS S3 "Same with storage and S3 or something canonically. I put in a gigabyte, I put in two gigabytes. F..." ▶ 31:04
1-800 Flowers "When we were starting a firm, we signed up 1-800 Flowers. We have no idea how much we're gonna ma..." ▶ 34:06
Casper
Casper "What really made the business work? Casper the mattress company. Oh my god incredible." ▶ 34:12
Stripe
Stripe "It's crazy in internet land where it's like Stripe might make more money from a 10-person company..." ▶ 34:47
Google Calendar
Google Calendar "There is a system of record for conference rooms. It's like Google Calendar." ▶ 21:40
Claude Cursor "You could argue, I don't know, Claude Cursor and stuff is an example of building very personal ap..." ▶ 25:01
ChatGPT
ChatGPT "They kind of probably know what ChatGPT is. They don't quite know how it's working." ▶ 50:57
Saber Systems "The first example of this is a company called Saber Systems which was started in 1960 by IBM and ..." ▶ 0:57
MUMPS "The first one was called MUMPS it was built by Mass General Hospital" ▶ 1:29
ACT Systems "The first CRM was called ACT Systems in 1987" ▶ 1:35
Workday
Workday "Now it's in Workday but now you have to have a CISO to make sure that your Workday doesn't get ha..." ▶ 1:55
QuickBooks
QuickBooks "Like QuickBooks can actually accomplish a task by itself versus just relying on a human to retrie..." ▶ 2:28

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