This time last year, 24 SaaS experts predicted big things for 2024.
Some predictions were spot on—AI-powered co-pilots, pricing experimentation, consolidation and M&A activity all surged. But not everything played out as expected. SaaS demand remained conservative, capital didn’t aggressively return, and private GPTs failed to gain traction.
So, what might 2025 bring?
We asked 25 SaaS founders, operators, and investors to share their thoughts on the trends, challenges, and shifts that will shape the industry in the coming year.
Oh and spoiler—AI features in everything, everywhere.
TL;DR:
- The AI-ification of SaaS continues
- The 2025 (new and improved) SaaS resurgence
- Prove ROI or suffer
- AI becomes everyone’s favorite personal assistant
- We’ll see the impact of the personal touch
- Vertical SaaS and market consolidation will rise
The AI-ification of SaaS continues
Kyle Poyar, Author of Growth Unhinged
“We owned software, then we rented it, then we used it on demand. Next we’ll be hiring it. The old models won’t die out overnight, but I expect we’ll see new winners and a larger overall pie.”
Kathleen Booth, SVP of Marketing and Growth at Pavilion
“SaaS brands will double down on brand-building as AI commoditizes traditional demand gen. In a crowded market, brand differentiation will drive demand and build lasting customer loyalty.”
Maciej Wilczyński, Co-founder of Valueships
“Eventually we expect AI costs to be 90% cheaper than they currently are (if the current trajectory holds). However this will take time, so until then, companies will experiment with usage based pricing, and continue the debate whether usage based or licensing is the better pricing model in the long run.”
Andrew Gazdecki, CEO of acquire.com
“We’re entering a new era where building software is easier, and AI is accelerating this trend. With countless AI-driven clones flooding the market, product differentiation won’t be enough. Success will rely on mastering distribution and customer acquisition. Founders must focus on creative marketing, strategic partnerships, and building lasting customer relationships to stay ahead.”
Desiree-Jessica Pely, CEO and Co-founder of Loyee.ai
“AI agents will drive SaaS into “Service-as-a-Software,” combining automation with expert services, where value-based pricing will dominate. Customers will pay for ROI, shifting performance risk to its providers.”
The 2025 (new and improved) SaaS resurgence
Nick Franklin, Founder and CEO of ChartMogul
“2025 will mark SaaS’s resurgence. AI will complement, not replace traditional SaaS platforms. Code generators will be less deflationary than open source, and recurring revenue pricing will continue to be the greatest business model in the history of capitalism.”
Jared Kleinert, Founder and CEO of Offsite.com
“2025 will be the best year for SaaS companies (and tech in general) since 2021, but it won’t always feel like it. We still need to be mindful of spend, and growth can’t come at all costs, but things will finally start to feel a *little* easier.”
Martin Raißle, VP of Finance & Operations at ChartMogul
“There will be more and more niche SaaS products. Bootstrapped by small, efficient teams they will solve the specific needs of a few thousand customers and make good money along the way.”
Machiel Kunst, Founder and CEO of Bluebird
“2025 will be a breakout year for SaaS, driven by renewed VC funding, increased and smarter hiring, and innovative AI tools. Companies will scale faster with flexible solutions replacing rigid legacy systems.”
Polis Pilavas, VP of Engineering at ChartMogul
“SaaS will shift to real-time personalization, enhancing individual user experiences by learning from every interaction, in an attempt to boost retention, increase satisfaction, and drive growth.”
Prove ROI or suffer
Philipp Wolf, CEO of Custify
“In 2025, SaaS will see a reckoning: providers will be forced to prove ROI or face churn. AI hype won’t save weak businesses—only those offering real, measurable customer impact will survive the shakeout.”
Semir Jahic, CEO and Co-founder of Salesmotion
“SaaS in 2025 will bring a reality check for AI startups. As enthusiasm cools, the market will reward substance over hype. Startups that deliver value will survive and others will face a reckoning.”
Sofia Faustino, Senior Manager of Insights at ChartMogul
“AI and no-code tools make it easier than ever to launch SaaS products, and we’ll see plenty of new players entering the game. But building a SaaS that delivers real value is still tough. In 2025, experimentation will flourish, but customers will demand clear ROI. Only SaaS businesses that can effectively demonstrate their impact will survive and thrive into 2026.”
Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz, Co-founder of Valueships
“SaaS will evolve into ‘Outcome-as-a-Service,’ with buzz around paying for results, not tools. Many will adopt this model, but long-term success will be tough due to predictability, attribution, and retention issues.”
Sabrina Castiglione, Chief Financial Officer at Omnea
“VCs will swing further back towards prioritising growth rates, but SaaS buyers continue a hard focus on ROI, leading to some interesting growth-stage funding dynamics.”
AI becomes everyone’s favorite personal assistant
Marco Rosmarini, CEO and Co-founder of Crono
“As AI becomes more common and takes over manual tasks, SaaS companies will focus less on helping users work faster and more on teaching them how to work with AI to get the job done faster and smarter.”
Sara Archer, VP of Sales at ChartMogul
“Smart sales teams will work faster using AI to automate administrative tasks and customer-facing follow-up. This will trigger a ‘back-to-basics’ wave, where the best reps will close more business using sharp discovery and negotiation skills. Along with this, SaaS businesses will be able to refine their understanding of their customers with better enrichment data and improved research techniques.”
Bruna de Guimarães, Fractional CPO & COO at BeBold
“SaaS will see a surge in vertical solutions, voice and conversational interfaces, and advanced AI-driven automation, enabling teams to focus more on creativity and innovation.”
Cristina Vila Vives, Founder and CEO of Cledara
“AI SaaS spend will more than double as buyers shift from experimentation to implementation.”
We’ll see the impact of the personal touch
Ryan Milligan, VP of Sales and RevOps at Quotapath
“Warm outbound is going to be essential for pipeline generation in 2025. Former closed lost opps, former admins of your product, etc. will be key to generating pipeline in such a noisy environment.”
Dipak Vadera, Director of Community and Ecosystem Marketing at Dealfront
“2025 will be the year of community-led growth in B2B marketing. Brands will double down on ambassadors and influencers to drive top-of-funnel awareness, proving that even in B2B, the power of authority, thought leadership and trust is what moves the needle. The lines between B2B and B2C will only blur further because, at the end of the day, people buy from people.”
Mark Walker, Co-founder of RevvedUp.ai
“Account Based Marketing will become mainstream. Traditionally it’s been seen as complex and costly, suitable only for large enterprise motions. With advances in AI, automation and workflow integrations, ABM will be available to even small teams going after SMB and mid-market sized deals.”
Zachary Gropper, CEO of InsightRevenue
“In 2025, SaaS success will hinge on investing in the buyer experience. Those neglecting it will face a self-fulfilling prophecy of decline, leading to reduced sales force sizes, more AI-guided selling, lower quality deals and increased buyer remorse. A golden opportunity awaits those prioritizing human connection and value. These companies will attract top talent, deliver exceptional experiences, and ultimately dominate the market.”
Vertical SaaS and market consolidation will rise
Scott Leese, Fractional CRO and GTM Advisor
“We will see a return to liquidity, cloud migration, vertical-focused apps, low-code platforms, consolidation, enhanced security, and AI-powered automation driving the industry forward – or to ruin.”
Sid Jain, Head of Insights at Gain.pro
“2025 would be a year of SaaS consolidation. Winners would start to emerge and we’d start to see many more companies getting acquired.”
