16th March ATX Side event - AI for SaaS goes Authentic Sauna
Panelists
Anand Arivukkarasu: Ex-Meta (Instagram) https://www.linkedin.com/in/anandarivu/
Hugh Forrest: Ex-SXSW President https://www.linkedin.com/in/hughforrest/
Josh Liberson: AI Founder (Dobbin) https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshliberson/
Markus Hoefinger: Investor https://www.linkedin.com/in/markushoefinger/
"As AI has accelerated development cycles, exceptional customer insight and clarity of direction are more critical than ever"
For the last 20 years, SaaS companies have built the digital infrastructure of the enterprise — systems of record, trusted workflows, and deep customer relationships.
Now AI-native companies are challenging that foundation.
They move faster.
They rethink UX from scratch.
They design around agents, not seats.
But legacy SaaS companies hold something AI-native startups don’t:
Massive proprietary workflow data
Long-term customer trust
Embedded distribution across global customers
Permission to operate inside mission-critical systems
If incumbents fully activate that data with AI, they may not be disrupted — they may dominate.
During last months the tools have made the development faster than ever. Millions of lines of code generated by smaller and smaller teams.
But the most important question for next years is: for what?
The essence of product vision and product management just went off the rails.
Does proprietary data + distribution beat AI-native speed and reinvention? Run as fast as you can - or head for clarity?
At SXSW, we bring together leaders from legacy SaaS, AI-native startups, and the investors backing different sides to debate:
Clarity and direction: when speed is enormous, why, what and direction matter more than ever - how to make sure customers needs are met
Is speed getting too much attention
Is proprietary data the ultimate AI moat — or overrated?
When customers do not understand opportunities of AI, how can you design for them
We need clarity, honesty and transparency more than ever. This isn’t a polite panel.