Contrary Research Rundown #13
The explosion of AI, and new memos on Vendr, ServiceTitan, and more
Research Rundown
The rise of OpenAI and ChatGPT continues to be one of the most fascinating developments within technology. One of the big topics this week was if it would replace search functionalities. We shared some resources on the topic. This week, OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, tweeted that the platform had hit over 1 million users in 5 days. Established companies like Netflix, Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook and Spotify, all took over 3 years to 10 months to reach their million users. Meanwhile, OpenAI just drastically broke that record. To round out our continuing exploration of the space, we shared some of the best resources on AI, Large Language models (LLMs), and Generative AI. Contrary Research has written about several AI companies, including ScaleAI, Fivetran, CohereAI, Hugging Face and infrastructure companies like Snowflake and Databricks.
While early stage capital chases the next wave of AI, some companies have more established operaitonal needs; and that means cash. We shared this week about Anduril announcing its $1.4 billion funding round, making it one of the largest funding deals of 2022. Anduril is a defense company transforming the US and allied military capabilities with advanced technology centered around autonomous systems, AI, and computer vision, making it an important company for core infrastructure in the US. If you missed our full memo, you can read it here.
Finally, we shared a thread about Ramp and some of the key elements that were successful in its early growth. Some of it includes having teams with strong talent density, counter positioning, and high product velocity. See the full thread here.
Productboard: A cloud-based platform offering product management software for professionals in product to make customer-focused decisions. The features of the product include feature prioritization, release planning and workflows. Read the full memo.
Ironclad: A self-serve platform offering contract lifecycle management software. The platform has built-in features that include redlining, editing, and audit logging. It also provides a contract repository. Read the full memo.
ServiceTitan: A provider of software for mobile workforce management acros home service verticals. They provide features that enable scheduling, sales and customer service for plumbers, electricians and other related housing services. Read the full memo.
Vendr: A procurement platform that helps companies manage their SaaS applications. Vendr helps companies review both usage and spending on applications from procurement to renewals. Read the full memo.
Endless Media by Mario Gabriele: Mario published a piece talking about the implications of using ChapGPT’s ability to write essays, pen poems, spawn images, and generate videos. He explores how we could be entering an age of endless media as a result of the powerful abilities of these models.
The SpaceX Effect by Jeff Burke: Jeff writes a fascinating story about the rise of companies founded by SpaceX Alumni and how the culture of the company led to several of the company's alumni to start their own companies; similar to Elon Musk's previous company at PayPal. Additionally, SpaceX Starship launched a product update named Starshield and Becky Peterson wrote an article analyzing the latest from SpaceX’s lucrative new Government Satellite Program. If you missed our memo on SpaceX, read it here.
The Founding story of Brex: Steven Li of Forbes shared five important takeaways from the founding story of Brex and how this could help emerging startups.
Eight lessons for SaaS leaders: Nick Mehta, CEO at Gainsight shared eight implications for the software industry as a result of Salesforce earnings report.
The best things to know about ChatGPT and 10 things the application can do. If you want to understand the behind-the-scene economics of ChatGPT, Miguel Fierro also discusses how everything works.
Using ChatGPT to build in Replit: Replit shared how to build a website application using ChatGPT in less than 10 minutes on their platform.
Runway is the latest generative AI startup to raise a big funding round. The company is building in generative video, and raised at a $500 million valuation. Kenrick Cai of Forbes shared his article on the company’s story. See the full write-up.
Machine Learning Trends: Databricks CEO/Founder was on CubeInsights this week discussing the company’s future strategy and the current trends they see within data infrastructure and machine learning.
McKinsey released a report on the state of AI in 2022, as well as a half-decade in review. The report assesses the rise of AI adoption, how much leaders are paying for these budgets, and how it will impact society.
Steve Wozniak is building a company called Privateer Space. The company is focused on keeping space safe and accessible for all humankind. Steve was on the a16z podcast to share about what he's working on.
Andrew Ofstad shared a visual snapshot of how Airtable reached product-market fit and key components that have been crucial to their success.
CB Insights book of market maps: These maps cover a wide variety of sectors. The 139-page coffee table book features 120+ market maps created by CB Insights' analysts to help identify which technology markets and companies should be on your radar, including AI lifecycle management, omni-channel enablement, B2B payments, and more.
Contrary Research Fellowship
At Contrary Research our vision is to cover hundreds of companies. We can't do it alone, nor would we want to. We focus on bringing together a variety of different perspectives.
That's why we're opening applications for our Research Fellowship. In the past we've worked with software engineers, product managers, consultants, and more. If you're interested in researching and writing about tech companies, apply here!