AI's impact on the software industry

Focus on value creation, not automation

AI's impact on work

How we organise work (the firm) changes

Using AI is not necessarily job salvation

Who will be the winners and losers?

E-commerce case study: ChatGPT as the SuperApp

Platform power dynamics - B2C vs B2B

Agentic AI's threat to "walled gardens"

Learning is winning: the knowledge platform

Why China is commoditising LLMs

India's plan to export standards (vs China) 

Middle powers: choose a game to play

Tim and Theos wrap-up

Sangeet Choudary is the best-selling co-author of Platform Revolution and the author of the new book Reshuffle. He has advised CEOs at more than 40 Fortune 500 companies and is currently a Senior Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley.
The SaaS crash isn’t cyclical — it’s structural. AI is eroding seat-based pricing, collapsing product boundaries, and destroying the old logic of defensible SaaS moats.
AI doesn’t just change tasks — it rewrites value. Focusing on “automation vs augmentation” misses the point; AI reshapes whole systems of work, competition, and advantage.
Translation is the real superpower of AI. By collapsing the cost of translating across silos, AI enables coordination without standards, APIs, or shared workflows.
Moats built on customer understanding are dissolving. When users can no-code, extend, or bypass tools — and adjacent platforms can invade workflows — retention logic breaks.
The decisive divide is above vs below the algorithm. Those who design and own learning systems capture capital-like returns; those whose knowledge is absorbed become commoditised labour.
Platforms don’t just intermediate — they absorb learning. Campaign managers, drivers, and operators trained the systems that ultimately priced them out.
Firms must be re-designed, not AI-enabled. Automating existing workflows locks in obsolete constraints; the real prize is questioning why the workflow exists at all.
The future firm is modular — but selectively integrated. AI makes context exportable, pushing work outside the firm, while pulling learning-critical activities tightly inside.
In physical AI, learning beats scale. The advantage isn’t owning assets — it’s owning the feedback loops that reveal how complex systems actually behave (the Tesla lesson).
Nations compete on where learning compounds. The US bets on intelligence concentration, China on model commoditisation plus execution, India on open standards — while Europe risks playing defence in a power game.

He leaves us with a lingering question: are you above or below the algorithm?  

 

Sangeet Choudary is the best-selling co-author of Platform Revolution and the author of the new book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DTKW6NQV">Reshuffle</a>. He has advised CEOs at more than 40 Fortune 500 companies and is currently a Senior Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley.
<ul>
<li>The SaaS crash isn&rsquo;t cyclical &mdash; it&rsquo;s structural.&nbsp;AI is eroding seat-based pricing, collapsing product boundaries, and destroying the old logic of defensible SaaS moats.</li>
<li>AI doesn&rsquo;t just change tasks &mdash; it rewrites value.&nbsp;Focusing on &ldquo;automation vs augmentation&rdquo; misses the point; AI reshapes whole systems of work, competition, and advantage.</li>
<li>Translation is the real superpower of AI.&nbsp;By collapsing the cost of translating across silos, AI enables coordination without standards, APIs, or shared workflows.</li>
<li>Moats built on customer understanding are dissolving.&nbsp;When users can no-code, extend, or bypass tools &mdash; and adjacent platforms can invade workflows &mdash; retention logic breaks.</li>
<li>The decisive divide is above vs below the algorithm.&nbsp;Those who design and own learning systems capture capital-like returns; those whose knowledge is absorbed become commoditised labour.</li>
<li>Platforms don&rsquo;t just intermediate &mdash; they absorb learning.&nbsp;Campaign managers, drivers, and operators trained the systems that ultimately priced them out.</li>
<li>Firms must be re-designed, not AI-enabled.&nbsp;Automating existing workflows locks in obsolete constraints; the real prize is questioning why the workflow exists at all.</li>
<li>The future firm is modular &mdash; but selectively integrated.&nbsp;AI makes context exportable, pushing work outside the firm, while pulling learning-critical activities tightly inside.</li>
<li>In physical AI, learning beats scale.&nbsp;The advantage isn&rsquo;t owning assets &mdash; it&rsquo;s owning the feedback loops that reveal how complex systems actually behave (the Tesla lesson).</li>
<li>Nations compete on where learning compounds.&nbsp;The US bets on intelligence concentration, China on model commoditisation plus execution, India on open standards &mdash; while Europe risks playing defence in a power game.</li>
</ul>
He leaves us with a lingering question: are you above or below the algorithm? &nbsp;
&nbsp;

AI changes everything it touches. For better and for worse. And AI is increasingly touching everything. The Age of Intelligence, recorded from INSEAD, brings together the voices of this new era.

AI is rebalancing the world. Power is shifting — among nations, corporations, and individuals — as trillions in value are created and redistributed. AI is increasingly central to economic and business strategy, geopolitical influence, and the shaping of culture, ideology, and values.

Listen to those leading the change—from academics exploring the boundaries, to entrepreneurs building the future, business leaders reshaping markets, policy-makers tackling the implications, and analysts marvelling at it.

Who will gain most in this unfolding era? What can executives, policymakers, parents, and citizens do to protect and shape their future? How will values and beliefs evolve as education and media are revolutionized? What does this mean for national security, business survival, personal agency – indeed what will it mean to be human?

Guiding you through this conversation are Theos and Tim. Theos Evgeniou is a leading AI academic at INSEAD, entrepreneur, and advisor. Tim Gordon, co-founder at Best Practice AI, is an entrepreneur, adviser and recovering political organiser. They have worked with some of the world’s most sophisticated companies, organisations and governments as they grapple with these questions.

Each episode features a thought-provoking conversation with a remarkable guest – followed by a rapid-fire, high-energy debrief.

We’ll reflect on what it might mean – for you, for your business, and for our world. Grounded in the realities but exploring the opportunities.

Whether you’re building, investing in, or simply trying to make sense of AI and what it may mean for you, this podcast is your backstage pass to the diverse people and ideas driving the most transformative force of our time.

Subscribe now or push the “like” button

AI changes everything it touches. For better and for worse. And AI is increasingly touching everything. The Age of Intelligence, recorded from INSEAD, brings together the voices of this new era.
AI is rebalancing the world. Power is shifting &mdash; among nations, corporations, and individuals &mdash; as trillions in value are created and redistributed. AI is increasingly central to economic and business strategy, geopolitical influence, and the shaping of culture, ideology, and values.
Listen to those leading the change&mdash;from academics exploring the boundaries, to entrepreneurs building the future, business leaders reshaping markets, policy-makers tackling the implications, and analysts marvelling at it.
Who will gain most in this unfolding era? What can executives, policymakers, parents, and citizens do to protect and shape their future? How will values and beliefs evolve as education and media are revolutionized? What does this mean for national security, business survival, personal agency &ndash; indeed what will it mean to be human?
Guiding you through this conversation are Theos and Tim. Theos Evgeniou is a leading AI academic at INSEAD, entrepreneur, and advisor. Tim Gordon, co-founder at Best Practice AI, is an entrepreneur, adviser and recovering political organiser. They have worked with some of the world&rsquo;s most sophisticated companies, organisations and governments as they grapple with these questions.
Each episode features a thought-provoking conversation with a remarkable guest &ndash; followed by a rapid-fire, high-energy debrief.
We&rsquo;ll reflect on what it might mean &ndash; for you, for your business, and for our world. Grounded in the realities but exploring the opportunities.
Whether you&rsquo;re building, investing in, or simply trying to make sense of AI and what it may mean for you, this podcast is your backstage pass to the diverse people and ideas driving the most transformative force of our time.
Subscribe now or push the &ldquo;like&rdquo; button

The Age Of Intelligence

Sangeet Choudary: Who Learns Wins