Sequoia's @gradypb says systems of record software companies are relatively safe from AI disruption, but that systems of engagement companies built on top of them are in trouble: "The first wave of the on-prem to cloud transition was transitioning systems of record — the Workdays, Salesforces, and Servicenows of the world." "The second layer on top of that was the systems of engagement. The systems of record might own the core database, but then there are a bunch of different workflow applications that reside on top." "I think what we're going to see with the wave of AI software is a third layer on top of those." "It's the layer that does the work. It's the agents getting deployed. They may or may not need those workflows beneath them, but certainly need access to everything that's sitting in that system of record." "As a result, I think those systems of record companies are relatively safe. They may not catch a lot of net new workloads, because those might go to the AI native companies. But I think overall they're pretty safe." "I think some of those workflow-based companies in the middle are in trouble, because they're neither the systems of record nor the agentic capability that's getting deployed. So they'll have to figure out how to become like that agent harness, so to speak, for whatever job needs to be done."
