#26 Systems Beat Tools: AI for GTM, SaaS Beyond SaaS, and the Return of Meritocracy
December 22nd, 2025
Strategic GTM insights for Founders, CEOs, and Investors building AI-driven SaaS businesses.
Real stories, proven frameworks, and a mindset for healthy, scalable growth.
Manually curated by Luigi Mallardo.
A new wave of Enterprise AI reports is landing with the same conclusion, from OpenAI to McKinsey to BCG:
AI advantage doesn’t come from tools. It comes from operating discipline.
That insight is the backbone of this month’s article.
Over the last two years, AI-for-GTM has turned into a circus. Autonomous outbound. Revenue superintelligence. Agents replacing half the commercial org.
But in real B2B environments, especially with complex sales, AI doesn’t fix weak systems. It amplifies them.
In my latest article, AI for GTM, I break down what actually works on the ground. Not tools, not hype, but the five operating areas where AI creates real revenue leverage when the GTM engine is already sound: qualification, prioritization, execution, feedback loops, and accountability.
Across food, media, automotive, SaaS, and robotics, the same pattern keeps repeating:
systems beat tools.
AI accelerates whatever operating model you already have, good or bad.
This edition brings together the most relevant insights I’ve collected over the last three months. It’s been an intense quarter, which is also why this newsletter took a bit longer than usual. No noise. Only what’s worth your attention if you’re building, scaling, or investing in AI-driven businesses with real GTM complexity.
Let’s dive in.
🧠 My Work
AI for GTM: Operating Reality, Not Tools.
Your Linkedin feed is a parade of promises: “Revenue Superintelligence.” “Fully Autonomous Outbound.”
Everyone claims they can replace half your commercial team with a script.
And founders keep asking the wrong question:
“Which AI tool should we use?”
If you start from the tools, you’re already lost.
Automating a broken process doesn’t create efficiency. It just scales the dysfunction.
The real question is:
Where does AI actually move the needle in a GTM engine selling complex deals?
Over the last 24 months, I’ve been researching and testing AI across real GTM environments. The pattern is simple:
In this article, I break down what’s real, what’s hype, and the five areas where AI actually drives revenue impact today for B2B scaleups operating in complex sales environments.
🌍 SaaSification of Traditional Industries
Specialty Foods & Subscriptions: SaaS logic outside SaaS
Subscription isn’t about software. It’s about owning the customer relationship, data, and repeat behavior. Specialty food brands show how direct access, onboarding, and habit formation matter more than the product itself. The same fundamentals that drive durable SaaS growth. Link.
Automotive is becoming a software business.
By 2035, software-defined products and services are expected to generate over 50% of OEM revenues, yet only 14% have scaled them. The bottleneck isn’t technology. It’s organizational and GTM transformation. Link.
Disney x OpenAI: from content to programmable subscriptions
Disney isn’t betting on AI for efficiency. It’s betting on AI to turn IP into an interactive, personalized subscription engine. Content won’t just be consumed. It will be generated, remixed, and co-created, with new tiers built around interaction, not access. Link.
📈 SaaS Market Moves
Who said Enterprise SaaS is dead
Image taken from ecotechers.com
Intercom pricing evolution
Intercom’s pricing is a masterclass in monetization maturity.
Clear value metric: Resolutions + seats
Persona-led plans: Targeted & relevant
Limited cognitive load: Simple to digest
Frictionless add-ons: Easy expansion. It’s not “cheap vs expensive.” Clear vs confusing.
This is how SaaS pricing scales. Link.
KeyBanc & Sapphire SaaS Survey 2025
Despite the “SaaS vs AI” narrative, the market is still rewarding companies showing real, sustained growth. The valuation gap is now brutal: sub-20% growers trade around 3–5x ARR, while >20% growers command premium multiples near 12x ARR. In short: SaaS isn’t dead. It’s just become meritocratic again. Link to the survey.
🤖 AI, Agents & Robots
The State of Enterprise AI 2025
The report is clear: AI advantage no longer comes from access to models, but from how deeply AI is embedded into real operating workflows. Leadership and systems matter more than tools. Link.
The Rise of the $499 Butler-as-a-Service
California-based robotics startup 1X has launched NEO, a humanoid home robot now open for preorder at $20,000. 1X is also rolling out a $499/month Butler-as-a-Service plan, signaling how robotics is moving from hardware luxury to subscription-based domestic help. Link.
Deloitte’s AI Misstep
Deloitte had to revise and partially refund a $290k report after AI-generated citations and references were found to be fabricated. A simple but important reminder: AI without a verification layer doesn’t create efficiency. It just produces errors faster. Link.
🚀 Raising Stars
Figure AI: The “EV moment” for Humanoids
Even though the news broke in September, Figure remains the one to watch. Jumping from $2.6B to $39B in a year isn’t just hype; it signals that investors now view humanoids as the next “foundational models”. Backed by Nvidia and Intel, Figure is moving past cool demos to actual infrastructure scaling (Helix & BotQ). This is execution at a industrial scale. Link.
👔 GTM Leadership Lessons
How Snowflake Actually Makes AI Drive ROI in GTM
One of the most interesting pieces of content on real, operating-level AI strategy I’ve read. Snowflake’s CMO and Founding CRO (Chris Degnan) explain how they made AI drive ROI, from an internal AI council to agentic models and governed data.
👉 One line that sums it all up: “There’s no AI strategy without a data strategy.” Link.
📚 Interesting reads
What is working in SaaS GTM (with or without AI)?
Kyle Poyar surveyed startups and found the average software company has 5 core GTM channels and another 5.5 experiments running. It’s no wonder we all feel exhausted. Focus is the new alpha. Link.
AI doesn’t replace work. It rewires it.
McKinsey’s latest report shows that most AI value comes not from automating tasks, but from redesigning entire workflows where people, agents, and systems are accountable together. Link.
ChatGPT Isn’t Killing Google (Yet)
New data from 973 e-commerce sites shows a clear pattern: organic LLM traffic massively underperforms Google across conversion, revenue per session, and AOV. Intent still lives in search. Link.
AI is forcing GTM to redesign itself
BCG confirms the real AI leverage is not tools or efficiency, but redesigning end-to-end GTM workflows around human judgment plus agent execution. AI doesn’t optimize marketing. It forces a new operating model. Link.
Founder secondaries: risk transfer, not maturity.
Letting founders cash out early doesn’t “free them to be bold.” It removes downside. When founders are safe and the team isn’t, incentives break. Real conviction is staying fully exposed until value is actually created.
👀 In case you missed it
A few ideas and conversations I shared on LinkedIn since the last edition:
How exits are engineered years in advance through GTM clarity. Link.
First meetings don’t fail on pitch. They fail on qualification. Link.
Why enterprise GTM has moved from persuasion to qualification. Link.
Why “creative pricing” is a maturity warning, not a virtue. Link.
ROI does not guarantee Retention. "We proved the ROI, why did they churn? Link.
Champion vs. Courier. Stop confusing access with influence. Link.
💬 Let’s Connect
What resonated? What’s missing? What’s keeping you up at night?
Reply to this email or DM me on LinkedIn. Always up for a sharp GTM chat.
Thank you!
Luigi