AI for America's Small Businesses | Lassie

AI for America's Small Businesses | Lassie – The a16z Show

Market views

Bullish

SMBS— AI automation for small businesses represents a massive market opportunity, with dental practices alone spending $200k/year on administrative costs across 160,000 practices. The technology enables small businesses to operate more efficiently and scale without traditional labor constraints.
AIAGENTS— Autonomous AI agents that can perform actual work (not just provide tools) represent a fundamental shift in enterprise software, with the market expanding from software-as-storage to software-as-labor. This creates a TAM orders of magnitude larger than traditional software.
HC— Healthcare administrative automation addresses a massive labor shortage where doctors are retiring due to inability to find administrative staff. Automating this work can expand access to healthcare services and improve quality of life for practitioners.

Bearish

TRADSOFT— Traditional enterprise software companies that only provide tools (not autonomous work) face disruption from AI-native competitors. The value proposition of software-as-storage is being replaced by software-as-labor, and incumbents may struggle to innovate fast enough.

Not investment advice.