A note to my team
Regarding the Mary Meeker / Bond Report ‘Trends –Artificial Intelligence (AI)’ from May 30, 2025
report link: https://www.bondcap.com/report/pdf/Trends_Artificial_Intelligence.pdf
TL;DR: AI isn't just a trend; it's a fundamental, unprecedented shift that's redefining work. Adapt fast, or get left behind.
1. AI as Your New "Action Layer" ⚙️
Beyond Chatbots: AI is evolving from simple assistants to powerful "agents" that can reason, act, and complete multi-step tasks on behalf of users.
Automating Workflows: Think about how AI can do the work (e.g., booking meetings, generating reports, orchestrating workflows) rather than just suggest it. This is driving massive efficiency.
Specialized Automation: AI is rapidly automating tasks across diverse industries (software, healthcare, legal, finance). Identify high-value, repetitive tasks your product can automate.
2. Human Ingenuity Drives AI Value 💡
The "Brush," Not the "Painter": AI is a powerful tool to express intent and shape experiences. It's not the creator or decision-maker.
Focus on the "Why": AI won't define purpose, ask the right questions, or understand what truly "matters". Our team's unique human skills in strategy, empathy, and creative direction become even more valuable.
Supercharge Creativity: AI can generate hundreds of design options, co-edit content, and scaffold code rapidly, accelerating creative and development processes.
3. Navigating the AI Landscape 🧭
Unprecedented Growth: AI adoption is happening faster than the internet. User growth for AI models like ChatGPT is "materially faster" than previous foundational tech products.
Cost vs. Profitability: While AI training is expensive, the cost of using AI (inference) is plummeting (99.7% lower in two years!). This creates huge user value but puts pressure on business models.
Competitive & Open-Source Shift: Competition among AI models is intensifying, and open-source models are rapidly closing the performance gap while being much cheaper. Consider how this impacts your product strategy.
"AI-First" Mindset: Companies like Shopify and Duolingo are embracing an "AI-first" approach, making AI proficiency a baseline expectation for all employees.
Key Actions for Us:
Integrate Deeply: Explore how AI can fundamentally reshape our product's core workflows to enable new, "agentic" capabilities.
Prioritize Efficiency & Speed: Design tools that empower our users to achieve their goals faster and with higher quality, leveraging AI.
Embrace Our Human Edge: Double down on skills like strategy, empathy, and problem definition that AI cannot replicate.
Explore New Monetization: Adapt our business models to the changing economics of AI.
Stay Agile & Learn Continuously: The landscape is changing daily. Let's commit to rapid learning and experimentation with new AI tools and techniques.