Why Build-to-Prod Tooling Matters More Than AI Code Generation
Jason Lemkin and Rory O'Driscoll debate whether AI code review can survive foundation lab encroachment on 20VC.
The New VC Game | CoreWeave Sell-Off Creates Panic | Revenue Multiples Out of Control
Harry Stebbings, Jason Lemkin, and Rory O'Driscoll debate the structural shifts reshaping venture capital, including why mega-funds ignore profitable non-AI SaaS businesses and only chase trillion-dollar outcomes. They analyze the market volatility hitting CoreWeave and neoclouds, Anthropic's slowing growth ahead of an IPO, the surge in inference platforms like Modal, and why code review and 'build-to-prod' tooling represent the largest opportunities in software development. Finally, they contrast extreme private AI valuation multiples with public software comparables and evaluate alternative company-building models like 37signals and Bending Spoons.
Key takeaways
- Jason Lemkin argues that build-to-prod tooling and verification represent the largest opportunity in software, calling code review the single most important category today. Read more →
- Anthropic reportedly cut its target public valuation from $2 trillion to $1.5 trillion as percentage growth cools ahead of an IPO. Read more →
- 37signals generated $370 million in profit since 2020 without institutional venture capital on its cap table. Read more →
- Neoclouds like CoreWeave carry severe downside risk because their multi-billion-dollar GPU purchases rely on debt financing that requires non-stop exponential demand. Read more →
- Modal secured a $15.75 billion Series D valuation after growing from under $100 million to a $1 billion revenue run rate in five months. Read more →
- Harry Stebbings highlighted a software company generating $20 million in annual recurring revenue, growing 600% to 700% profitably, that received zero interest from venture capital firms because it lacked an AI narrative. Read more →
6 articles from this episode
Why Foundation Model Revenue Is Not Real SaaS
Jason Lemkin and Rory O'Driscoll debate Anthropic's IPO valuation, model stickiness, and why Replit dropped Claude for OpenAI.
Why Jason Lemkin Now Calls Seed Funding a Trap
37signals cleared $370M in profit since 2020. Jason Lemkin explains why raising even one venture round makes profit distributions nearly impossible.
CoreWeave: Why Massive Debt Puts Neoclouds at Risk
Jason Lemkin and Rory O'Driscoll explain why debt-heavy neoclouds like CoreWeave crater when AI model demand stumbles.
Jason Lemkin Thinks Modal Is Cheap at $15.75B
Jason Lemkin and Rory O'Driscoll debate Modal's $15.75B valuation, developer abstraction layers, and the margin threat from neoclouds like CoreWeave.
Why Mega-Funds Ignore Profitable Non-AI SaaS
Mega-funds managing billions ignore profitable non-AI SaaS because power law math forces them to chase trillion-dollar outcomes.
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