O'Driscoll: Software Categories Inevitably Consolidate Into Two Dominant Winners
Rory O'Driscoll · NVIDIA Crushes Quarter | OpenAI Cuts Off Cursor | Instinct Hits $2.5B Valuation · Sep 3, 2026 · at 34:20
Scale GP Rory O'Driscoll explains how software power laws emerge even when initial minimum viable products are trivial to clone.
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“The functionality accretes over time. Two companies pull ahead. I don't know why. It could be just they executed better and go to market for the first six months. They get more revenue. They get venture capital. They build more shit. The guys who start just a month later aren't quite as on top of it. They don't get the brand. And fast forward three years. This category has way more, it's what Jason said, is way more functionality associated with it. And two guys made it big and the other eight didn't quite get there. And that's the way venture works in software.”
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