Founders must recognize that AI enables software to perform work (labor) rather than just facilitate it (IT). While differentiation is easier via model capabilities, defensibility still rests on traditional foundations like systems of record, workflow ownership, and scale effects.
Founders must pivot from building 'tools for humans' to 'systems of agency.' The next generation of value is captured by software that moves from identifying problems to implementing high-competence solutions autonomously, with humans serving only as final-loop approvers.
The 'laws of physics' in software have changed: money can now buy development speed, and data/UI moats are dissolving, forcing a shift toward specialized physical infrastructure and agentic service ecosystems.