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It has been a painful few weeks for enterprise SaaS stocks, but it's not over for B2B software.

The big picture: AI is forcing a reckoning.

Friction point: To survive the historic selloff, SaaS companies will need to change their beloved yet outdated usage-based and seat-based pricing models.

The industry has fought outcome-based pricing, where costs are tied to measurable results and the seller assumes some risk.

But AI will continue to drive down usage and headcount, meaning less seats to sell.

Zoom in: SaaS companies will also need to consider specializing to stay relevant, focusing on specific verticals and stop trying to be everything to everyone.

Perhaps the biggest change for SaaS companies, though, will be thinking about integrating AI at its product's core — and that could mean going private if the company is public.

What they're saying: "I think every public company in the space is thinking if you try to be an AI company, is it better to do it in the public market or private market?" a banker tells Axios Pro.

What we're watching: Thoma Bravo is looking for SaaS companies feeling unloved by the public markets.

The bottom line: This isn't the end for software, but it will be if it doesn't take this opportunity to make some changes.

SaaS heartbreak to spark changes and deals

The AI reckoning is here, but B2B software is not over.

Illustration of a stack of money with a broken heart emoji floating over it

It has been <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="a painful" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/07/ai-software-anthropic-losses-stock-market" data-vars-content-id="b48435a8-5ce6-4f53-8ccb-4408afa9c799" data-vars-headline="SaaS heartbreak to spark changes and deals" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/07/ai-software-anthropic-losses-stock-market" target="_self">a painful</a> few weeks for enterprise SaaS stocks, but it&#x27;s not over for B2B software.The big picture: AI is <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="forcing a reckoning" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/pro/enterprise-software-deals/2026/02/06/software-ai-stocks-down" data-vars-content-id="b48435a8-5ce6-4f53-8ccb-4408afa9c799" data-vars-headline="SaaS heartbreak to spark changes and deals" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/pro/enterprise-software-deals/2026/02/06/software-ai-stocks-down" target="_self">forcing a reckoning</a>.

SaaS heartbreak to spark changes and deals

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