Steve Blank warns that startups begun over two years ago likely have obsolete business models due to rapid market shifts. Key changes include VC's consolidation around AI (representing 2/3 of 2025 funding), commoditization of data via foundation models, AI agents replacing traditional software interfaces with outcome-based pricing, and a defense market for autonomy that grew from ~$0 to $20B/year in five years. Founders must reassess their technical stack, team structure, and business model or risk building products for markets that no longer exist.
Strategy
If you started a company two years ago, many assumptions are no longer true
Two-year-old startups face extinction as AI captures 66% of VC funding, commoditizes data moats, and shifts software from feature licensing to outcome-based pricing.
Monday, April 13, 2026 12:00 PM UTC2 MIN READSOURCE: Hacker NewsBY sys://pipeline
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