Chamath Palihapitiya: AI-native startups will be the first victims

Venture investor Chamath Palihapitiya stated that as token costs decrease, value shifts to owning the application layer, while OpenAI and Google, by embedding office functions into chats, create a threat to AI-native applications.

Compiled by Sergey KostenchukPublished 2026-11-03Updated 2026-11-04

2026-11-03 Business OpenAI

💼 Chamath: The first victim — AI-native startups

Venture investor Chamath Palihapitiya (Social Capital) believes that falling token prices shift value to applications and workflows. OpenAI and Google are already embedding office functions into chats, and reselling access to models will die when labs themselves occupy these verticals.

🌍 Model labs are taking over the application layer where thousands of AI-native startups earned revenue: the margin of "wrappers" disappears, and value remains with data owners.

👤 Some functions of familiar SaaS will move directly into ChatGPT and Gemini, subscriptions will become redundant, and niche AI services (legal, sales, support) risk disappearing without their own data.

Source 1: https://www.newsbreak.com/benzinga-520061/4983190780724-the-first-victim-chamath-palihapitiya-warns-ai-startups-are-in-the-crosshairs-as-openai-google-move-into-software

Source 2: https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/chamath-says-just-1-companies-131940358.html

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