CJ Desai, CEO of MongoDB, recounts a conversation with former CEO Dev Ittycheria regarding the rarity of software database platforms scaling to multi-billion revenue.
Opinion
Desai: Database infrastructure carries no risk of disruption from AI
“AI will still go on, and this is a layer you must have. That's it. So TAM must have layer, no risk of disruption.”
Opinion
Desai: SaaS zero-terminal-value AI bear thesis is overblown
“The, just going on the extreme terminal value being zero for some of the software, they are overblown, ah, and, you know, ah, we'll figure this out together.”
Insight
Desai: Fast AI Code Generation Cannot Bypass Enterprise Security and Compliance Barriers
“So yes, wipe coding will allow you to create an app fast. You have a great use case. You have some disruption in mind. That's excellent. But then there is a lot of things that you need from a go-to-market perspective to be able to break in, pass all their chec…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Desai: Enterprise feedback on office copilots is poor, unlike coding tools
“A lot of them tried with the office productivity type co-pilots, unclear how much value they got out of it. They're like, okay, this really works with my Excel or, you know, can I really do this thing or create a PowerPoint slide using natural language? The fe…”
Insight
Desai: Enterprise leaders want AI that replaces legacy systems of record
“Because you will have my attention as a leader, if you say I'm going to replace it, it's going to be cheaper, it's going to be faster, it's going to be better, and oh, by the way, I have disrupted pricing, and for the value you get, that's when you pay me the …”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Desai: Only about 10 AI-native companies have reached $100M ARR
“Like if you think about however you define success for AI native companies, whether it's a hundred million ARR, billion ARR, pick one. There are like 10 companies like that today, today.”