AI Signals Evolution, Not a SaaS Collapse
February 25, 2026
February 25, 2026
Following recent market turbulence in software stocks and growing commentary about a potential “SaaS apocalypse,” some asset managers have begun reducing or exiting their exposure to the sector.
Viking Growth takes a different view, as commented in an interview with Dagens Næringsliv (DN), yesterday
“There is no apocalypse,” says Erik Fjellvær Hagen, Managing Partner at Viking Growth. “What we are seeing is a natural market correction combined with a technological transition.”
Erik Fjellvær Hagen, Managing Partner at Viking Growth
Recent volatility has been fueled by concerns that artificial intelligence and agent-based systems could fundamentally challenge traditional SaaS business models. For companies valued on expectations of long-term high growth, increased uncertainty around the durability of revenue models has triggered sharp repricing.
“When investors become fundamentally uncertain about business models, particularly in highly valued growth companies, reactions can be strong,” Hagen says.
“But selectivity in capital allocation is not a crisis; it is a healthy phase.”
Over the past 15 years, software has undergone multiple structural shifts:
“Each transition has been accompanied by predictions that the growth story was over,” says Hagen.
“In reality, software has only become more deeply embedded in how businesses operate.”
While some market participants see AI as a threat to SaaS, Viking Growth views it as an accelerant.
“We do not see AI as a direct competitor to mission-critical software,” Hagen explains.
“On the contrary, AI will enable software companies to automate more workflows, increase value per customer, introduce new pricing models, and expand their share of the value chain.”
According to Viking Growth, the strongest companies will use AI to deepen their integration within customer operations rather than be displaced by it.
“AI will not make robust software companies irrelevant,” Hagen says. “It will make the best ones stronger.”
Viking Growth focuses on Nordic software companies deeply embedded in customers’ core workflows and compliance-driven processes.
“There is a significant difference between simple applications and software that sits at the heart of mission-critical operations,” Hagen notes.
“Companies in the latter category do not disappear when technology evolves. They evolve with it.”
As capital becomes more selective, differentiation between high-quality, embedded software businesses and less defensible models is likely to widen.
For Viking Growth, the debate is not about whether SaaS will survive, but which companies will adapt and lead the next phase.
“The question is not whether SaaS continues,” Hagen concludes.
“The question is who is building SaaS 2.0.”
"Has the SaaS Bubble Burst?" Read the full article in DN (In Norwegian, behind paywall)
Read the full article
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