Core Insights - Mamoon Hamid's transition to Kleiner Perkins from Social Capital was met with skepticism, as many viewed it as a risky move to join a firm perceived to be in decline [1][2][3] - Kleiner Perkins, once a leading venture capital firm, faced challenges in the mid-2010s, including internal tensions and a tarnished reputation due to a gender discrimination lawsuit [12][13][14] - Under Hamid's leadership, Kleiner Perkins has undergone a significant transformation, focusing on a narrower investment strategy and fostering a more collaborative culture [6][8][24] Company Overview - Kleiner Perkins was founded in 1972 and became known for its early investments in tech giants like Google and Amazon, but its focus shifted to cleantech in the 2000s, leading to mixed results [9][11][10] - The firm has raised over $6 billion in capital since Hamid and Ilya Fushman took over, with a focus on early-stage investments and high-potential deals [29][31] Leadership and Culture - Hamid and Fushman have implemented cultural changes at Kleiner, including open office layouts and firm-wide offsites, to promote collaboration and a startup-like energy [24][6] - The leadership duo emphasizes a mission to be the first call for founders aiming to make history, reflecting a shift towards a more founder-centric approach [24][8] Investment Strategy and Performance - Hamid's first major deal at Kleiner was leading Figma's $25 million Series B, which later went public at a valuation of $19.3 billion, marking a significant success for the firm [28] - Since 2018, Kleiner has returned $13 billion to its limited partners, with successful exits from companies like DoorDash, Peloton, and Slack [29][28] Competitive Landscape - Kleiner Perkins now competes with a diverse range of financial entities, including Wall Street banks and sovereign wealth funds, necessitating a more agile and focused investment strategy [8][40] - The firm aims to maintain a small partner structure to ensure quality control and a strong brand presence in a competitive venture capital environment [38][41]

The #1 Conceit in B2B at Scale: Masking a Slowdown in Net New Customers Why Covering Up Declining Customer Growth is the Beginning of the EndI’ve seen this movie play out dozens of times now across hundreds of B2B companies. And it almost always ends the same way.The #1 conceit in B2B — the thing that kills more companies than bad product, bad timing, or even bad management — is ignoring or masking a slowdown in net new customer acquisition.It’s seductive. It’s easy to rationalize. And it’s almost always f ...

Market Overview - The agentic AI market is projected to grow nearly 10 times by 2030, with global enterprise agentic AI expected to increase from $2.6 billion in 2024 to over $24 billion by 2030 [2] Company Analysis: UiPath - UiPath is positioned as a market leader in agentic AI, with its platform integrating agents and data to enhance productivity and office workflows [3][4] - The company reported an operating profit of $13 million in the third quarter, a significant improvement from a loss of $43 million in the same quarter the previous year [6] - UiPath's stock trades at just over 5 times trailing revenue and has seen an 83% decline from previous highs, with analysts projecting earnings growth at an annualized rate of 26% [7] Company Analysis: Alphabet (Google) - Alphabet operates the infrastructure necessary for agentic AI, including chips, models, and data centers, with its Gemini model being widely adopted [8][10] - Google Cloud experienced a 34% year-over-year revenue increase in the third quarter, driven by enterprise adoption of agentic AI [11] - Alphabet's stock trades at 30 times 2026 earnings estimates, reflecting its strong advertising revenue and growth potential in the cloud sector [12]

Key Points Agentic AI is set to become the next big thing in AI. UiPath is uniquely positioned to be an agentic AI orchestration platform. 10 stocks we like better than UiPath › The next chapter of the artificial intelligence (AI) market is descending upon us quickly with agentic AI. Agentic AI goes beyond generative AI, such as AI chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Alphabet's Gemini, and uses AI agents to complete tasks on their own. While that still sounds a bit like science fiction, it is a hot ...

Core Insights - UiPath's competitive advantage in automation lies in its ability to transform AI innovations into scalable enterprise efficiency, moving from scripted automation to agentic AI that interprets intent and coordinates tasks [1][8] - The company's orchestration-first approach reduces friction and enhances adoption, leading to stronger customer relationships and margin expansion without aggressive customer acquisition [2][8] - UiPath's agentic AI is designed to be accountable and auditable, which is crucial for enterprises in regulated environments, thereby accelerating buying decisions [3][8] - The shift towards agentic AI positions UiPath to monetize coordination at scale, establishing itself as a foundational operating system for work, which is essential for driving long-term performance as enterprises focus on efficiency and control [4] Competitive Landscape - ServiceNow's automation strategy is centered on workflow unification, leveraging its system of record to embed AI across departments, but it emphasizes top-down workflow design compared to UiPath's bottom-up approach [5] - Pegasystems specializes in decisioning and case management, excelling in regulated industries, but focuses more on decision orchestration rather than task execution, which differentiates it from UiPath's comprehensive system integration [6] Financial Performance and Valuation - UiPath's stock has seen a decline of 12% over the past month, slightly worse than the industry's 10% loss [7] - The company trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, significantly below the industry average of 29.98, and holds a Value Score of F [9] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UiPath's fiscal 2026 earnings remains unchanged over the past 30 days, with projected earnings of $0.67 for the current year and $0.76 for the next year [10]

We recently compiled a list of the 15 High Growth Mid-Cap Stocks to Buy. The second stock on our list of high growth stocks is UiPath, Inc. TheFly reported on January 12 that Barclays raised its price target on PATH to $18 from $16 and maintained an Equal Weight rating. As part of its 2026 outlook, the firm revised its software sector ratings and price projections. Barclays noted a favorable background for software, with stable macro conditions and IT spending, appealing stock prices, and sector sentiment ...

Group 1 - UiPath Inc. (NYSE:PATH) is recognized for its automation platform that utilizes robotic process automation and AI to assist organizations in automating repetitive tasks [2] - Jim Cramer expressed a positive outlook on UiPath, indicating that the company has good earnings and potential for upside, although he noted that investors might need to wait a bit longer for significant gains [1] - Despite acknowledging the potential of UiPath as an investment, some analysts believe that other AI stocks may offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk [3] Group 2 - Cramer mentioned that UiPath's stock had experienced a significant increase, leading him to refrain from recommending it at this time due to its recent surge [2] - The article suggests that there are undervalued AI stocks that could benefit from current market trends, including tariffs and onshoring, which may present better investment opportunities [3]

Company Overview - Paycom's stock has decreased by over 70% since its peak in late 2021 and is down more than 40% from its 52-week high [1] - The company reported a 9% year-over-year revenue growth in Q3 2025, with a GAAP net income margin of 22% [1] AI Integration - Paycom does not face a significant threat from AI to its business model, as it already offers outcomes through its product Beti [2] - The company has launched an AI product named IWant, which allows users to query their data via voice or text, marking a significant release since its founding [2] Product Innovation - In 2021, Paycom introduced Beti, an automated payroll platform that allows employees to manage their own payroll, which has led to a decline in other revenue types but provided substantial value to clients [3] - The company is positioned to capture market share as competitors struggle with the evolving software landscape [8] Market Context - The software industry is expected to undergo significant transformation due to advancements in AI, with some companies likely to thrive while others may struggle [4][7] - Concerns about AI disrupting the software industry have been prevalent, with predictions that traditional SaaS pricing models may become obsolete by 2028 [5] Valuation and Growth Prospects - Paycom's stock is trading at approximately 16 times the average analyst estimate for 2025 earnings, which is considered reasonable given its growth potential [8] - The company's revenue is projected to exceed $2 billion in 2025, indicating a solid growth trajectory [8]

Core Insights - IonQ is a leading player in quantum computing, utilizing trapped-ion technology for stability, achieving 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity, and investing in a quantum ecosystem [2][3] - UiPath is transitioning to an agentic AI orchestration platform, focusing on managing AI agents from various vendors, with accelerating revenue and significant market potential [6][8] - IBM is positioned as a less risky investment in quantum computing, leveraging AI growth and developing quantum technologies, including its Qiskit software platform and new quantum chips [10][11][12] IonQ - IonQ employs trapped-ion technology, which uses actual atoms, providing stability compared to traditional qubits [2] - The company has a market cap of $17 billion and is projected to generate around $110 million in revenue by 2025, indicating a high valuation relative to its revenue potential [4] - IonQ is investing in chip, software, and networking capabilities, along with having its own manufacturing and research center [3] UiPath - UiPath is focusing on the orchestration of AI agents, aiming to manage various AI solutions from different vendors [7] - The company is a leader in robotic process automation (RPA), which supports its transition to an agentic AI platform [7] - UiPath's revenue is accelerating, indicating a strong growth trajectory in the AI market [8] IBM - IBM has a market cap of $286 billion and is experiencing growth driven by AI and quantum computing initiatives [10][11] - The company has restructured by spinning off its low-gross-margin IT infrastructure service business, focusing on higher-margin AI and quantum solutions [10] - IBM's Qiskit software platform is a standard for quantum research, and it is developing quantum chips aimed at achieving fault tolerance [11][12]

Core Viewpoint - The software-as-a-service (SaaS) sector is experiencing significant turmoil due to fears of disruption from artificial intelligence (AI), but these fears may be exaggerated, presenting potential investment opportunities in select software stocks. Group 1: AppLovin - AppLovin has seen a stock price increase of 71% over the past year, yet it currently trades nearly 22% below its 52-week high [2][3] - The company is experiencing rapid revenue growth, particularly from its AI-powered Axon-2 adtech platform, which grew 68% year over year last quarter, enhancing gross margins and profitability [3] - Management plans to expand the platform beyond mobile gaming and introduce a self-serve ad manager, which are expected to be growth catalysts [3] Group 2: Salesforce - Salesforce aims to lead in agentic AI by launching Data Cloud (now Data 360) and acquiring Informatica, positioning itself as the master record of organizational data [4][5] - The stock has decreased by about 28% over the past year, attributed to concerns over slowing core growth and increased competition, making it relatively cheap with a forward P/S multiple below 5 and a forward P/E ratio of 18 [5] Group 3: Workday - Workday claims to have the "largest and cleanest" human resource and finance database, which is crucial in the AI era [6] - The company is introducing AI agents and tools for finance, legal, and HR, and has acquired Paradox to enhance its hiring process [7] - Workday's stock has fallen nearly 24% over the past year, but it is trading at a forward P/S ratio below 5 and a forward P/E of 18, indicating it is undervalued [7] Group 4: GitLab - GitLab operates a DevSecOps platform and has seen its stock decline about 45% over the past year due to fears that AI may reduce the need for coders [9] - Despite these concerns, the company has consistently grown its revenue by 25% or more, driven by an increasing enterprise customer count [10] - The launch of its Duo Agent solution and a new hybrid pricing model could serve as growth catalysts, with the stock trading at a forward P/S multiple under 5.5 [10] Group 5: UiPath - UiPath's stock has decreased about 24% from its 52-week high, but the company is transitioning to become an AI orchestration platform [11] - The Maestro platform is designed to manage AI agents and software bots, addressing the need for governance and compliance as AI agents proliferate [13] - The stock is attractively valued, with a forward P/S multiple below 5 and a forward P/E around 20 [14]