How AI is fundamentally changing the valuation and marketability of software companies
By Rocher Hulst, Director, JBR | Netherlands
AI resilience is primarily a structural issue, with valuation effects that are unevenly distributed. Companies whose core functions can be directly replaced by AI agents—such as workflow automation, reporting, or data visualization—face margin pressure and rising customer churn. In contrast, firms with defensible value propositions are far more resilient. These include companies built on unique, proprietary data that AI cannot replicate, or those serving as a single source of truth. Business‑critical software deeply integrated into customer processes creates high switching costs, especially within complex ecosystems and legacy-heavy sectors like manufacturing and the public sector. Additional protection comes from deep domain expertise, regulatory constraints that require human judgment, and strong network or platform effects that AI can imitate functionally but not structurally.
Read the full article: https://jbr.nl/actueel/context-wint-van-functionaliteit/