Essay · ~20 min read

Good News: AI Will Eat Application Software

Alex Immerman and Santiago Rodriguez · Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Free Intermediate

This is a16z's clearest map of where AI genuinely opens new application-layer companies versus where it just produces thin wrappers around a commodity model. It names the actual openings (counterpositioning on business model, workflow orchestration, embedded domain expertise) and spells out why a slick interface over ChatGPT is not one of them. Read it as a lens for judging your own idea, not a shopping list.

• The real openings come from owning a workflow and embedding domain expertise, not from a nicer UI on top of a general model.
• New entrants can win by counterpositioning on business model (for example per-conversation pricing instead of per-seat), which incumbents struggle to copy.
• A frontend that mostly re-skins commodity functionality stays vulnerable, so ask what your product still delivers if the model layer became free tomorrow.