AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND – With global tech markets wiping out an estimated two trillion dollars in paper valuation early 2026, Auckland-based tech leader and ThinkGo founder, Devin Deen, says that the brunt of the SaaSpocalypse fallout is affecting the per-seat licensing model that has been the bread and butter of the industry for decades.
As AI enables individuals to do more than ever before, the demand for dozens of software licenses for a single team is evaporating. “If I can swap ten people with two to three people working with AI agents, am I going to need those many licenses for that particular product?” Deen asks.
This shift is forcing companies to rethink their pricing and deliver value based on outcomes rather than headcount.
Another real terror for SaaS startups is the new reality that any SaaS product that can be replicated in a weekend by a competitor using AI, is effectively a commodity. Deen warns that, “SaaS was already in shaky grounds in terms of what vibe coding can replace. Your software can be replaced in one weekend by someone who likes what you did”.
For a software business to remain competitive and investable today, Deen says it must look beyond its generic code and embrace the concept of the whole product model. As Deen explains, “It’s not just your product that’s the value. It’s your integrations, how open your partnerships, your community that you have built with your customers, the engagement, how they feel about your brand”.
He warns that, “It doesn’t do you any good to add a hundred customers if you’re losing a hundred customers. You’re just on a treadmill for nothing”.
“The only way to prevent that churn is through constant, assumption-free dialogue with the people using your product.”
