Christina Cacioppo - Building an Enduring Software Company in the Age of AI - [Invest Like the Best, EP.496]

High-margin, high-growth SaaS now trades at far lower multiples than low-margin AI businesses, despite comparable or better fundamentals, per Vanta's CEO.

• Multiple compression despite strong fundamentals: Cacioppo agrees Vanta is growing faster with margins still very high, yet the host notes the market now values such businesses at a third to a quarter of prior multiples, while low-margin, high-growth AI businesses command far higher multiples.
• Agent-first product, eating token costs: Vanta's agent now auto-generates UI and takes actions with permission (e.g., offboarding departed employees' accounts); 25% of customers use this flow, targeting 75%, with Vanta absorbing token costs rather than marking up Claude pricing.

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