I’ve honestly been kind of surprised that large companies software hasn’t been recreated for free en masse from the use of AI in a weekend. I’ve definitely seen some cases but it’s not as common as I had personally expected.
In my day job, we have several teams doing this replacing mainly SaaS vendors. It's a easy sell and very low risk replacing basically CRUD web interfaces over databases.
A bit off-topic, but it is interesting that you say this.
Just earlier today I listened to Startups for the Rest of Us podcast episode 842 [1] titled "The future of SaaS in an AI World", where host Rob Walling addresses the "SaaS is dead" question. One of his arguments is that it's rarely worth spending time on rebuilding your SaaS vendors' solutions, taking time away from your core mission. But I guess that:
1. the projects you hinted at are low-value services (e.g. CRUD web apps over DBs), and not SaaS services which have real moats, like CRM (connectors ecosystem) or email service providers (IP reputation, IT security).
2. His argument applies to startups, where you're trying to grow your valuation by growing revenue (valuation = 5-10x yearly revenue) as opposed to established corporations which usually have a higher incentive to limit costs.
You seem like a very smart person, so I'd be curious to hear your thoughts here. Were these low-value SaaS services, and is this in the context of an established business?