Summary
In this a16z podcast episode, host Joe Schmidt talks with Dharmesh Shah, co-founder and CTO of HubSpot, about where startups and established software companies can build durable value as OpenAI and Anthropic push further into applications. The conversation picks up from Schmidt’s “Yellow Brick Road” essay, which argues there is plenty of room to build software outside the path the frontier labs are racing down.
Shah shares a framework for founders, warning against pitches built on gaps that ChatGPT or Claude Cowork simply can’t fill “yet.” He compares today’s shift to earlier waves of abstraction in software development, and to HubSpot’s own origins helping small businesses benefit from the internet.
The discussion also covers HubSpot’s recent moves, including the launch of a CRM aimed at one-person businesses and the rebuilding of its platform around agents. Shah explains why architectural choices made for human navigation need rethinking now that powerful models can read data in very different ways, how HubSpot approaches ecosystem building as a product, and what happens when AI becomes the main way customers use software.
It’s a useful listen for founders, product leaders and investors thinking about moats in the age of AI agents.
📺 Source: a16z · Published November 10, 2026
🏷️ Format: Interview
