The business realities are already pushing AI labs upmarket into competing with their own clients — as seen in Anthropic's Claude Code and Claude Design and OpenAI's ChatGPT superapp with Codex — and if the labs hoard their best models, they will have a strong chance to build the best AI-native products and outcompete struggling legacy-software incumbents.

The author cites early evidence of the product pivot — Anthropic's Claude Code and Claude Design, OpenAI's ChatGPT 'superapp' with Codex — and argues that hoarding the best AI lets the labs exploit incumbents' 'capability overhang' across the software landscape. ✦ AI generated

Alex Kantrowitz · Big Technology · 2026-07-31 · original ↗

AI labs moving 'upmarket' and competing with their clients has always been the threat to software (the Saaspocolypse should never have been about vibe coding your own Salesforce). And now, the business realities may force the labs to do it. We've already seen interest in moving beyond the API business from Anthropic, which has released products like Claude Code and Claude Design. And OpenAI, for its part, is pushing hard in products with its new ChatGPT 'superapp' that includes coding capabilities with Codex built-in. The leading AI labs will see opportunities to build AI-native products across the software landscape given that today's incumbents are struggling with legacy products, stubborn organizational structure, and 'capability overhang.' If the labs' best artificial intelligence is broadly available, then everyone can compete. If they hoard it, they'll have a strong chance to build the best AI-native products on the market and make their investors happy.

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