Casado: AI is eliminating routine middle-tier software development
Martin Casado · a16z GP, Martin Casado: Anthropic vs OpenAI & Why Open Source is a National Security Risk with China · 20VC with Harry Stebbings · Jul 28, 2025 · at 46:02
Martin Casado, General Partner at a16z, explains why AI tools automate boilerplate work without reducing the defensibility of deep technical or domain-focused software companies.
0:00 / 0:29exact quote · 29.4s
▶ Watch the full episode on YouTube → 720p mp4 · rendered on demand · StarZero watermark
“And so in many ways, I would say, you know, the AI is getting rid of the middle, right? Like, so very new computer science, like models, they don't know how to do just because nobody's done it before. And that's kind of pushing the state of the art. And then in the app space, all of the hard stuff is the business anyways. Right. And this is why like the changes are very small and like you learn everything through go to market, which the models don't know just because you're exploring a new market and it's all the bullshit in the middle that they're helping us with.”
quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →
More from Martin Casado
Casado: OpenAI Lost Its Early Leads In Code, Image, And Video Generation
“OpenAI was the first to code, right? With GitHub Copilot. I mean, they provided the weights. As far as I know, and they lost that. And they were first to image with Dali, and they lost that. And they were the first to video with Sora. And as far as I can tell,…”
Casado: Vertical SaaS Tech Is Simple CRUD Where The Team Doesn't Matter
“Every time I look at vertical SAS, I'm like, why do we even care about the technical team? It's fucking crud, man. It's like, crud is like create, you know, read, update, delete. It's like, they all do the same thing. They all just kind of look like a web app.…”
Casado: Open-Source AI Is Dangerous Because China Is Better At It
“I think that right now open source is most dangerous because China is better at it than we are, and as a result of that.”
Casado: Operating background likely hurts venture capitalists more than it helps
“I don't know if operating helps or not. Like, I don't know if it helps you pick. I don't know if it helps you close. I don't know. Like, I don't know how to answer that. Probably not. It probably hurts more than helps.”
Casado: VCs who skip evenings and weekends do not deserve to invest
“And you should work in the evenings, and you should work on weekends. And if you don't, like, I, like, I just don't think you deserve to be investing in these companies. You just don't.”
Casado: Thesis investing is flawed because market narratives are usually retrofitted
“A lot of investors talk about actually in the, a lot of investors talk about thesis. I don't think that's the right way to think about investing at all. I think it's just so crazy to come up with some story, which to your point is more retrofit. So I'm definit…”