Orlando Bravo, the founder and managing partner of private equity firm Thoma Bravo, told CNBC that concerns about an AI-induced "SaaSpocalypse" have dissipated and that artificial intelligence is serving as "an enormous tailwind" for software companies.
Speaking at the SuperReturn International private equity and venture capital conference in Berlin, Bravo said software firms and AI products are converging into what he described as new "agentic solutions" designed for corporate customers. He argued these developments will enable software companies to scale by automating elements of human judgment and routine processes.
Bravo was explicit in his assessment: "The SaaSpocalypse is over. It's finished, no more." He added that software firms stand to reach a "completely new level" by incorporating automation that takes on aspects of human decision-making.
On the revenue front, Bravo said roughly half of Thoma Bravo's new revenue is coming from AI-related streams, which he called "AI revenue, agentic revenue." He noted that the firm's portfolio companies, which collectively produce about $35 billion in revenue, are generally "booming" in the wake of AI-driven demand. Thoma Bravo manages close to $200 billion in assets.
Bravo's comments follow volatility in the software sector earlier this year. In February, Anthropic released advanced AI tools for its Claude co-working agent, an event that coincided with a sharp sell-off in a range of software stocks. Names that experienced downward pressure included Salesforce, Figma, Monday.com, HubSpot, ServiceNow and others.
Since that pullback, parts of the software complex have staged a recovery. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF rallied 21% in May, marking its strongest monthly gain since October 2001, and the ETF has risen more than 9% over a three-month span. Short-term price movements shown in market data included CRM down 1.61%, NOW down 4.26%, IGV down 1.38%, HUBS down 2.64% and MNDY down 2.1% at the time of reporting.
Bravo also acknowledged there is an adjustment underway in markets and among companies as participants work through governance, cybersecurity and return-on-investment questions tied to newer AI agentic tools. He suggested that investors may be underestimating software companies' capacity to adapt to the AI era, a view he reinforced in his discussion of portfolio performance and revenue composition.
Contextual note: Bravo's remarks emphasize a bullish view on AI's role in software monetization while recognizing outstanding questions about implementation and value capture. The comments link sector rebounds to the evolving integration of AI into commercial software offerings.