When Anthropic released its first batch of software-focused AI tools in February, the market reaction was swift and brutal. A sell-off dubbed the "SaaS-pocalypse" wiped billions off software companies across sectors - from cyber security firms like Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike to enterprise platforms. Investors treated every software stock as equally exposed to an AI takeover. The reality, executives and investors now say, is far more nuanced.
After the initial panic, Anthropic unveiled an updated set of tools designed to work with many of the same companies it had supposedly threatened - offering embattled share prices a brief reprieve, the Financial Times reported. The pivot was deliberate. Catherine Wu, head of product for Claude Code at Anthropic, told the FT the company has no intention of replacing existing platforms. "We're not going to be best in class at collaboration, at managing all your sales deals, or all your designs. We would just never have that ability to assume all that functionality within Cowork," Wu told the FT, as reported by "Hvylya".
"Being an everything app - it feels overly ambitious for us to do," Wu added. Anthropic's own finance department uses Cowork to prepare for an initial public offering expected as early as this year, running growth projections and analyzing customer segments. But the company frames the tool as an accelerator for existing workflows, not a replacement for specialized software.
Private investors share the view that AI will not erase enterprise software built on years of proprietary data. Jean-Baptiste Brian, co-chief executive of Hg Capital, said plug-ins "can't replace proprietary data, systems of records, regulatory context, network effects and distribution." But others warn that even partial disruption can be devastating for public market valuations. Victor Englesson of EQT Partners said software companies have faced slowing growth for years, and AI has made the pressure worse.
Customer service platforms, data aggregators and marketing content firms are widely viewed as the most exposed - sectors that rely on public data and face little regulatory protection. Regulated industries like law, tax and audit occupy the opposite end of the spectrum. Englesson said the technology is "very powerful" but added that the public market "has voted on who is best positioned to capture that value." Software groups, he said, must now show that customers will pay for AI-enhanced features by upselling and bringing in new users.
Earlier, "Hvylya" reported on how Block slashed 40 percent of its workforce over AI and saw its stock price surge.