Blackpearl chief executive Nick Lissette has urged New Zealand technology companies to stay calm amid volatility in US software stocks, as investors and executives debate how fast-moving AI agent products could affect software-as-a-service business models.
Offshore commentary has framed the latest wave of AI agents as a potential "SaaS-pocalypse". The term has circulated alongside a pullback in US software stocks, following product updates from Anthropic and rapid adoption figures reported for an AI agent tool called OpenClaw.
"We are now living in an age of great uncertainty," said Lissette. "There will be something new emerging every day. That volatility isn't going away - it's the new normal."
He said the debate needs more nuance than a simple prediction of SaaS collapse. In his view, AI agents increase competitive intensity in software markets, and feature-led SaaS products may face margin pressure where agents replicate narrow functions that customers previously paid for as part of a broader subscription.
Micro-competition
Lissette said the agent model expands the competitive set from a small number of scaled rivals to thousands of specialised alternatives. "You no longer compete with one or two scaled rivals," he said. "You compete with thousands of micro-competitors. It's not a single shark - it's piranhas. Each agent can automate a narrow slice of functionality that customers previously paid SaaS providers for. One slice doesn't matter. But enough slices over time can hollow out a product. That's a real dynamic, and the market is responding to it."
The concern reflects a broader view in software markets that AI agents could unbundle feature suites, shift buyer expectations on price, and compress margins for vendors that rely on incremental upgrades for retention and expansion.
He said the same shift increases the value of data ownership and structured knowledge, which he described as harder to replicate than software features - particularly when proprietary and embedded in workflows and customer decision-making.
Data focus
"An agent is only as powerful as the information it runs on. Intelligence without knowledge is noise. If it runs on deep, structured, proprietary knowledge, it becomes exponentially more valuable. That's where the leverage shifts, and the fuel providers are set to win," Lissette said.
He said the current market reaction should be seen as a reassessment of value, not a definitive break from SaaS. He also warned that strategy cycles are shortening and product positioning needs more frequent review.
"What concerns me more is that in all the noise, companies can lose sight of the fundamentals," he said. "Technology doesn't win on its own. Delivering genuine customer outcomes is the true north. It has to start and finish there."
Blackpearl view
Blackpearl sells data technology for sales and marketing, with a focus on the US market. The company operates from Wellington and Phoenix, was founded in 2012, and is listed on the NZX and ASX under the code BPG.
From Blackpearl's perspective, the spread of AI agents could bring both disruption and new demand. Lissette pointed to OpenClaw's reported growth as a signal that the number of software actors consuming data could rise quickly.
"OpenClaw hasn't just created 1.5 million agents. It may have created 1.5 million new consumers of high quality data and buying signals [Data-as-a-Service] almost overnight," he said.
He urged companies to reassess what makes their products defensible, including whether customer value sits in features that agents can copy or in information assets competitors cannot easily reproduce.
"Once you are clear on the outcome you deliver for customers, you then select the tools and data required to achieve that," Lissette said. "AI is one of those tools - powerful, yes - but still a tool. This is less about extinction and more about evolution. Companies need to ask: is our value in features that can be automated, or in data and insights that can't easily be replicated?"
Faster cycles
Lissette warned that the pace of change in AI means annual planning cycles may no longer match the market's tempo. He said firms need tighter feedback loops on product performance, positioning, and customer outcomes as new agent-based competitors appear and disappear.
"The challenge is that everything now moves at extraordinary speed. You can't set strategy annually and hope it holds. You have to evolve in real time," he said. "Brands should be re-evaluating where their real defensibility sits. If your edge is workflow alone, you need to move fast - now. If your edge is structured data and proprietary knowledge, this shift could accelerate your advantage."