Software investing was rocked at the start of this year by a selloff in firms with heavy SaaS exposure, as new Anthropic models fuelled concerns that the sector would be overrun by AI. But not all firms are abandoning SaaS. Software-focused Lead Edge Capital is targeting SaaS businesses that it believes will remain resilient to this disruption.
We sat down with Partner Brian Lobdell, who heads up the firms London office, to unpack why he thinks some of the concerns around software have been misplaced, and the type of businesses that the firm is looking to target moving forward.
Lobdell covers the motivations for the selloff (1:25); the durability of data management software (2:56); how SaaS businesses can continue to innovate (4:35); the appeal of a ‘software plus’ business model (5:46); long-term investing in the face of technological disruption (7:09); the revenue model for SaaS businesses (7:41); the opportunities in European fintech (8:56);Â the continent’s evolving regulatory environment (10:40); and the impact of the SaaSpocalypse on exits (12:05).
