Benchmark’s Chetan Puttagunta on the Past, Present & Future of Software

The conversation centers on the evolution of software investment, particularly the shift from on-premise to cloud and now to AI-native applications. Chetan Puttagunta, a partner at Benchmark, discusses their investment in Manus, an AI agent acquired by Meta, highlighting its rapid growth to $100 million ARR by breaking tasks into sub-components and using multiple models. Puttagunta argues that AI applications will disrupt SaaS companies by offering superior value at a lower cost, drawing parallels to the cloud's disruption of on-premise software. He advises SaaS companies to acquire AI startups, while also noting that AI companies are growing fast and may choose to remain independent. He also touches upon Benchmark's investment strategy, emphasizing the importance of partnering with founders possessing deep insights and passion.