There’s two very distinct sides to the danger Big SaaS finds itself in.

On the one hand, it’s the internal dev teams of their corporate clients that are experimenting with Agentic AI to emulate the features, and the value, of monolithic platforms such as Salesforce.

But on the other, it’s AI labs pivoting their teams away from research and towards the huge, but often siloed data resources corporations have, and creating unique solutions that can set their clients apart in the increasingly crowded markets they serve.

Both groups are basically doing the same. And both are reducing the leverage of Big SaaS.

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Ever since Salesforce, investors have been pouring money into SaaS. No longer.

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Here’s 5 big SaaS players that have lost market share and valuation in 2026.

🔴 Salesforce: enterprise CRM solution for sales, service, marketing, and analytics.

- Market cap decline: ~20%

- Valuation decline: ~15%

- Key challenges: AI-driven CRM alternatives, internal AI adoption by clients

🔴 HubSpot: marketing, sales, and customer service software for SMBs and mid-market companies.

- Market cap decline: ~15%

- Valuation decline: ~12%

- Key challenges: Custom AI marketing automation tools

🔴 ServiceNow: workflow automation for IT service management, HR, and customer service.

- Market cap decline: ~18%

- Valuation decline: ~18%

- Key challenges: AI-powered workflow automation

🔴 Workday: online ERP for finance, HR, and planning, focused on enterprise resource management.

- Market cap decline: ~12%

- Valuation decline: ~10%

- Key challenges: AI-driven HR and finance solutions

🔴 Zendesk: customer service and support software with ticketing, chat, and help center tools.

- Market cap decline: ~22%

- Valuation decline: ~20%

- Key challenges: AI chatbots and customer service agents

More than 60% of US venture capital investors are now prioritising AI startups.

Index Ventures, a major global VC firm with over $10 billion in assets under management, has now shifted its focus from traditional SaaS to AI. The firm is now heavily investing in AI research, enterprise AI, and AI-powered SaaS

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Big SaaS is desperately trying to lock in users while trying to placate shareholders. It’s failing.

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There’s a new term doing the rounds that’s destroying the already fragile reputation of Big SaaS.

The term is “enshittification”, coined by writer and activist Cory Doctorow in 2022.

Everyone in charge of managing a Big SaaS platform for their business will recognise it. Prices going up while quality is going down.

And doing vendor lock-in like their life depended on it. Which it kinda does, but that shouldn’t be your concern.

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70% of companies aren’t corporates, don’t have the budget to spend millions consolidating their siloed data. 60% lack a capable internal team.

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Ownership of data by corporates reaches a frightening 85% of total volume, leaving just 15% to smaller businesses.

And now big AI Labs are helping corporates monetise their advantage even more effectively.

But smaller companies don’t need to be left behind. They too can throw off the shackles of enshittified Big SaaS.

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Software companies focussed on AI-powered custom solutions are uniquely positioned to help SME wean themselves off Big SaaS.

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Smaller businesses most often turn to Big SaaS, because they lack the infrastructure and expertise to handle their data themselves.

But what often is the case is that they end up with their data being locked into the vendor’s database.

That’s where software companies can help with custom solutions.

For instance, they can create solutions to consolidate data across disparate marketing channels such as social media, advertising, email, websites and outdoor, discover patterns, and suggest new campaigns.

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As the potential of custom AI solutions becomes more obvious, small companies can become unique again.

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Big SaaS represents not only vendor lock-in, but also makes every company look the same.

Their CRM forces them into the mould towards the outside world just as their finance SaaS forces their internal systems into the mould.

We’re a software company based in Amsterdam, and we’re small by choice. Not everyone fits in the corporate mould.

With AI, we have the opportunity to rethink the external and internal processes of our clients and create smart custom solutions that respect their uniqueness and help them succeed in their own way.

Big SaaS is bleeding out because Agentic AI is smarter, faster, more flexible. If they’re smart, small companies don’t need to be left behind.