Source: Semafor
Tech companies built at scale are now formally abandoning the business models that got them there. The venture-backed growth playbook has exhausted itself—not because of temporary headwinds, but because original markets have consolidated or commoditized faster than anticipated. Companies like OpenAI, Stripe, and others are chasing adjacent revenue streams (enterprise services, fintech rails, B2B infrastructure) and competing on relationships and bundling rather than innovation.