The rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence has sent ripples through the tech and investment worlds, sparking concerns about the potential disruption of established software, legal services, and video game industries. While the narrative of AI “wiping out” existing players is gaining traction, the real-world implications are far more nuanced. To explore this, we put an AI coding tool to the test.
Working with an AI assistant, we embarked on an ambitious project: to create a functional replacement for Monday.com, a project management platform with a substantial market capitalization. Neither of us possesses extensive coding experience, yet we’ve become increasingly familiar with “vibe-coding” tools – AI platforms capable of generating functional applications from simple English prompts, democratizing software development for those without deep technical backgrounds.
Our initial request was straightforward: build a project management dashboard mirroring Monday.com’s core features, including project boards, team assignments, and status tracking. The AI delivered a working prototype in mere minutes. Undeterred, we then tasked it with researching Monday.com independently, identifying its key functionalities, and replicating them. The AI not only succeeded but also incorporated additional features, such as a calendar integration.
The true potential of this technology became evident when we connected the AI-generated clone to personal email accounts. This transformed the tool into a personalized project manager for our daily lives. The AI flagged forgotten calendar appointments, like a child’s birthday party, and proactively generated reminders for booking travel and signing event waivers. This entire process, from inception to a personalized assistant, took less than an hour and incurred minimal costs, estimated between $5 to $15 in compute credits, a figure likely to decrease as data center infrastructure expands.
This experiment raises critical questions for investors regarding which companies are most vulnerable to AI-driven disruption. Industry insiders suggest that businesses whose primary function is to “sit on top of work” – platforms like Atlassian, Adobe, HubSpot, Zendesk, and Smartsheet – are potentially the most exposed. These services, while valuable, are often not considered mission-critical and may be susceptible to more agile, AI-powered alternatives.
Conversely, companies in sectors with strong network effects, such as cybersecurity firms like CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks, appear more resilient. The complex, interconnected nature of their services and the inherent value in their established user bases present a significant barrier to replication.
Even “systems of record,” which anchor businesses with critical enterprise data, like Salesforce, may find themselves challenged, though their deeply integrated nature provides a degree of insulation against rapid cloning through weekend coding projects.
The current market downturn in software stocks could present an opportunity for investors to differentiate between essential, “need-to-have” solutions and more easily substitutable “nice-to-have” applications. The ongoing evolution of AI suggests a significant recalibration of the technology landscape is underway, demanding a re-evaluation of business models and investment strategies.
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