SaaSletter - Where Are We In B2B AI Cycle?
Our synthesis of AI spend data from Cledara, Ramp, Vertice + Zylo. Plus our podcast with Edward Robson, CIO of 2717 Partners.
Mapping AI Spend Data From Cledara, Ramp, Vertice + Zylo
As more 3rd-party platforms publish AI spend data, we thought an “all-in-one” analysis might add value. First, all credit is due to their AI spend transparency → sources here:
Ramp AI Spend Data - note we transformed it by calculating “AI” divided by “Software + IT” to be comparable to other sources
The end customer mix of each platform helps explain the AI spending gaps:
AI spend levels appear to be closely correlated with end-buyer size: SMB/Mid-Market-heavy platforms (like Cledara + Ramp) have seen far faster AI ramps than more enterprise-weighted platforms, like Vertice + Zylo.
The relatively low absolute enterprise AI adoption creates significant adoption upside, especially as “Enterprise Plus” (10,000+ employee orgs) deploy at their unique scale (for SaaS, Enterprise Plus spend 8.9x vs 500-2,500 employee orgs).
Zylo’s 2025 growth data highlights the enterprise potential:
Enterprise Plus (+393%) growth materially outpaced Overall (+108%)
The Enterprise Plus spend disparity vs 500-2,500 employee orgs is even more pronounced than traditional SaaS: 12.7x for AI (vs 8.9x for software)
Bonus Chart Aligned With “Enterprise Torque”: Goldman Sachs token usage estimates (h/t Glenn Solomon of Notable Capital) show a) enterprise agents ramping starting 2H 2026 and b) having the highest relative growth curve 2028+ (vs consumer agents + non-agent workloads):
Edward Robson (CIO - 2717 Partners) On “Cloud Returns” Investing Podcast
SPOTIFY | APPLE | OTHER PODCAST PLATFORMS| VIDEO
We’re especially excited to debut this episode with Edward Robson, Partner + Chief Investment Officer of 2717 Partners. The episode outlines his frameworks for capital allocation in technology and the related impact of AI.
Curated Content
“For AI adopters, success and failure look identical — at first” a thoughtful note on the AI J-Curve from Nathan Warren and Azeem Azhar of Exponential View:
An X thread on declining Product-Market Fit (PMF) from RepVue’s Adam Litte:
Related RepVue Resource: Q2 2026 Cloud Sales Index (report | excerpts)
AI ~“ARR” multiples via Tomasz Tunguz:
Decagon 125x ARR
Sierra 79x
Legora 56x
Harvey 37x
Ramp 31x
Databricks’ disclosure that 25% of revenue is from new AI products provides an incremental + important disclosure for our benchmarking of AI mix / % revenue
Qualitate provided a quadrant view of AI Disruption via n=8,000+ enterprise buyer evaluations. “Imminent Disruption” is the most crowded quadrant for Software + Cybersecurity:
“Why I Believe in Categories, Just Not Category Design” by Dave Kellogg
A fascinating look at the value of enterprise data via bankrupt Spirit Airlines $10m data sale to Google:
About Cloud Ratings
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with this slide showing how our G2-enhanced Quadrants (like our recent Sales Compensation Software) release, this business of software newsletter you are reading, our podcasts, and our True ROI practice area all fit within our modern analyst firm:
