Introduction
For over a decade, Stack Overflow was the developer’s go to place. I remember when I was pursuing my undergraduate degree and was coding, when we faced any problems, we preferred going to StackOverflow first, then to seniors and professors. But over the years, Stack Overflow has a compelling story to tell – It rose to prominence as the Wikipedia for code but where is it now?
During 2014-2017, it reached its absolute peak, COVID-19 pandemic also gave it an immediate peak. Traffic was at an all-time high as the world rushed to build digital infrastructure. It was the ultimate “search and find” destination for tech geeks.
Then in November 2022, OpenAI launched ChatGPT and everything changed.
ChatGPT launched, and the “search and find” model was instantly replaced by the “ask and generate” model. It is easier to tell the problem and ask for a solution than scrolling through pages of comments. By early 2026, Stack Overflow’s monthly question volume had plummeted by over 75% compared to its 2014-2020 highs.
The lesson is: The market doesn’t care about legacy, it only cares about the current. If you don’t adapt to the market currents, it’s highly likely that you won’t survive for long.
The Power of the “Wave”
A good example of this is Zomato. They started off as FoodieBay, a simple directory for restaurant menus. They could have stayed a “discovery” platform and likely would have been subsided by Google Maps or Instagram. But they saw the “delivery” wave and pivoted. Then, when the pandemic hit, they doubled down on logistics. Most recently, seeing the “Quick Commerce” wave, they acquired Blinkit. Zomato took full advantage of the current and rode it.
Now consider Hike Messenger. It had 100 million users in 2016 and more features than WhatsApp like stickers, news, games, and “hidden chats.” But Hike was busy building an app for everything and was late to the market. The market was moving towards simplicity and reliability which was quite visible in Hike’s PlayStore reviews.
WhatsApp caught the wave early. It built a simple and reliable app which could be used by anyone (Millennials, GenZ etc), whereas Hike was targeted more towards GenZ. Hike came a victim of “feature bloat,” ignoring the fact that users just wanted a fast, clean way to talk to each other. By the time ‘Hike’ pivoted to a social community model, the network effect of WhatsApp was an insurmountable wall. They fought the current with more features, but could not make a dent.
Auxano’s Portfolio:
Let’s take a peek into the response of some of the portfolio companies-leveraging the current AI wave to position themselves in the market and not just use AI as a buzzword. They are re-engineering their value propositions to ensure they match the market needs.
1. Private Circle:
In the private market intelligence industry, information is often messy and opaque. Private Circle has built the leading intelligence platform for the Indian private market, covering over a million companies. Private Circle using AI has built a chat interface (AskPC) to leverage their database to present the data in a way that a customer demands. The data has become more dynamic than static.
2. DataSafeguard:
In a world where data is gold, privacy and security has become a bottleneck. DataSafeguard has tackled this head-on with their AI-powered product offerings. Their AI models achieve 94.5% accuracy in detecting and redacting sensitive PII (Personally Identifiable Information) across unstructured data like emails and PDFs. They’ve built an AI infrastructure that allows other companies to use AI safely.
3. Mugafi:
Mugafi has launched Ved, an AI co-pilot designed specifically for the Indian storytelling ecosystem. Ved helps you research, write scenes, and dialogues while maintaining cultural nuances that global LLMs often miss (AI models trained for indigenous content). By integrating AI into the scriptwriting workflow, Mugafi laid down the infrastructure of content creation, allowing writers to focus on the story while the AI handles the structure.
4. Primebook:
Primebook has built an hybrid android laptop specifically for students. With their latest PrimeOS 3.0, they’ve integrated AI Global Search and Gemini AI directly into the operating system. A student in a tier-2 city doesn’t just get a laptop; they get a device that helps them summarize notes, submit assignments, and research topics through an AI-led interface.
Final Thoughts:
The AI wave is not something that will pass. Now founders have an important choice to make: Accept a new and evolving technology and rise or see the competition adopting it.
Author,
Tanmay Gajbhiye
