Varun Srivathsan

Following several high-profile industry developments, SaaS's dominance in the enterprise productivity space is increasingly being challenged by large language models and agentic AI capabilities. For private equity investors, this debate goes far beyond hype. It raises critical questions about portfolio resilience, pricing models, defensibility, and where the next wave of technology value will be created. In this session, value creation leaders will challenge some of the prevailing narratives around AI and SaaS and explore what this shift could mean for operators and investors.

• Will AI agents replace the Saas model?

• Is the SaaS "seat-based" model breaking? How to increase the gross margins as companies shift from SaaS to AI based models?

• Are companies shifting the "Buy" vs "Build" strategies?

• How will AI-enhanced products adapt through new pricing, contracting and commercialisation models?

• Where will the next generation of defensible software companies emerge?

Panel members include:

James Craig, Portfolio Growth Director, Growth Capital Partners

Gideon Shmuel, Operating Partner, Foresight Group

Slava Shafir, Operating Partner, Corsair Capital