The Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) sector has dropped 30% in the last 90 days and is still gushing blood. The selloffs over fears of inherent obsolescence as a result of the development and proliferation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have been likened to past stock market upheavals, such as with China’s Deep Seek in January 2025.
However, as much as AI is being promoted as the end-all and be-all for the future of computing, there are some subcategory sectors where AI will have a tough time competing with several well established industry leaders. These companies, many of whom have already incorporated some AI and machine learning elements into their platforms, are far ahead of anything that OpenAI or ChatGPT will be able to match for at least the next decade. Among these companies are:
- Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR | PLTR Price Prediction)
- CrowdStrike Holdings (NASDAQ: CRWD)
- Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK)
Strategic Resilience In The Wake of AI
SaaS companies best positioned to survive SaaSpocalypse have properties making shifting away to a standard AI too expensive, too impractical, or too specialized.
There are a number of characteristics that companies exhibiting resilience to the threat of AI making them obsolete share. These traits include:
- Vertical Focus and SaaS Specialization: These companies focus on specific, highly regulated industries (verticals) that horizontal AI tools cannot easily replicate. Examples of these industries are: insurance, industrial design, and healthcare.
- Data Infrastructure Leaders That Adopted AI Early: These companies are often responsible for mission-critical data management and infrastructure in highly secure, vertically integrated platforms, such as those involved with national security.
- High Switching Costs: These companies’ products are so crucial to the effective operation of their clients’ businesses that the costs of shifting over to a new platform and the subsequent integration downtime makes switching prohibitively expensive.
- Action-Oriented Agents: Companies that have adopted “agentic” AI, which are tools that take action rather than just providing answers are better positioned to defend their market share.
Palantir Technologies
Palantir’s position as a major US government contractor inures it from the SaaSpocalypse.
As one of the leading Big Data companies in the industry, Palantir has already integrated AI into its workflows, but applied to the ontology of data management. As such, a ChatGPT type of AI can only analyze data. To actually put events and decisions into action requires Palantir’s AI Platform, which already has been integrated into a clients’ operations, which can range from supply chain and client due diligence to security and military operations.
Additionally, Palantir is a major US government contractor, so a general use AI would not meet the security demands necessary to prevent hacking, malware, and other breaches to effectively replace it. Palantir’s AI platform also seamlessly meshes with Gemini, GPT-4, and other models while maintaining a secure environment. Also, by using value-based pricing, Palantir’s flexibility allows it to work with clients during business cycles, versus competition charging flat rates across the board.
CrowdStrike Holdings
Crowdstrike ironically uses AI elements in its cybersecurity platfroms to combat AI data breaches and security compromises.
Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike already incorporates AI into its Falcon platform. Using a “fight fire with fire” principle, CrowdStrike uses its homegrown AI to support its Falcon platform in preventing data leaks and in protecting clients from AI powered hacking and intrusion.
Falcon’s AI secures endpoints, identities, and data pipelines – all areas of vulnerability to AI breaches. CrowdStrike’s APEX increases identification of concealed threats, while its Charlotte AI security analyst boosts detection and analysis speed of data threats from AI from hours to minutes, then quickly breaking down interdiction into multiple sub-tasks to reduce the impact of any subsequent model’s potential failure and avoiding any chain reaction or domino effects from that failure.
Autodesk, Inc.
Autodesk’s estimated 80% share of the global arhtecture and engineering inustry makes an AI challenge difficult.
Architecture and Engineering SaaS company Autodesk is a well-established leader in vertical software. Its tools have become industry standards for the architecture industry, commanding an estimated 70-80% of the global market. This alone gives Autodesk a huge competitive advantage. On top of that, Autodesk has already proactively created Autodesk AI to complement its bread and butter AutoCAD, Fusion 360 and Revit platforms. Replacing any of these platforms with AI is prohibitively expensive for clients from a training perspective, since the industry has become so reliant on Autodesk tools that even if AI were to compete, the years of training required to reach equivalent competency are not practical, so complementary AI is definitely the better way to go
Other examples of Autodesk AI integration into a complementary tool include:
- Automated documentation, drawing, and modeling in Fusion 360
- Autodesk Forma uses AI to simulate environmental factors like noise and wind into a project’s design phase.
- Autodesk AI is designed to address industry specific data management challenges, such as manufacturing techniques, structural integrity, and material tolerances – topics much too difficult for an “off the shelf” AI to replicate.
While SaaSpocalypse is still wreaking havoc on the sector, the aforementioned stocks and others with the same traits will likely continue to thrive and be profitable as the bloodbath continues.
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