A Quiet Salute to the CEOs Still Rebuilding for the Age of AI. Most Are Maybe 40% Of The Way There.

Jason Lemkin writes for SaaStr that the CEOs he respects are the ones actually tearing down and rebuilding their businesses for the AI era, not merely tacking a chatbot onto an old product. SaaStr notes the latest SaaS Capital Index shows public B2B firms growing at a median thirteen percent, with most stuck in the ten to thirty percent range and only a few breaking thirty percent. The recent Fin acquisition—formerly Intercom—demonstrates a four‑year, full‑scale transformation that ultimately fetched a three point six billion dollar deal at under nine times revenue, far lower than valuations for newer entrants. Yet the data makes clear that simply adding AI features hasn't moved the growth needle, because pricing, data, and go‑to‑market models still need a deep overhaul. As Lemkin reminds CEOs, sliding from twenty‑two percent to eighteen percent growth can halve a company’s enterprise value, so the toughest work ahead is finishing the rebuild. SaaS, short for software‑as‑a‑service, delivers subscription software over the internet.

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