Mark Cuban on the next job wave. Customized AI integration for small to mid-sized companies. "Software is dead because everything's gonna be customized to your unique utilization. Who's gonna do it for them... And there are 33 mn companies in the US."

If the next big thing is "custom AI for 33M SMBs", the hard-hitting questions start now: - Who's gonna manage millions of models without dedicated IT? - How do you ensure continuity when the "integrator" bails? - What's the real cost of infrastructure vs SaaS? - Who's on the hook for hallucination, bias, or data leaks? - Who's legally responsible? - What's the real ROI for tiny businesses? - How do you mesh with legacy ERP and messy data? - What benchmarks prove it's better than a human or generic software? The opportunity is massive. But execution, governance, and sustainable competitive edge are the real game.

That’s not a traditional dev job anymore. It’s a new category of builder really ..someone who understands problems deeply and can turn workflows into working systems using AI. The leverage shifts from writing code to designing outcomes.

Cuban just handed you a business plan: 1.Pick an industry (restaurants, contractors, salons) 2.Learn their top 3 pain points a custom AI workflow that solves them 4.Charge $500–$2k/mo retainer You don’t need VC. You need 10 clients. Who’s already doing this? Drop your niche 👇

Deploying software for small to mid size companies is the worst nightmarish thing i experienced as a business analyst. It is not a code problem. Nobody agrees on the business processes in the first place. Endless custo will make it worse, non scalable, no integration with APIs...

The future belongs to the Independent ( consultant, freelancer, solopreneur ) who take action and create value. Is up to you to figure out what’s the solution to the problem you can bring to the table ( opportunity ). It all start by Choosing Agency.

Moron erased all his posts about Trump after Trump won. What a piece of crap.

He’s actually right. For peace of mind and liability protection, companies will hire experts to manage and automate security. For most firms, doing anything less could reasonably be viewed as negligent.

"Everything is going to be customized to your unique utilization". That is not software?? How is software dead, then? Who is gonna customize and give that to non-software companies, and who is gonna maintain it? These jokers are so drunk on this shit that they are contradicting themselves. 😆

Probably "AI consultants" in the beginning, but companies are going to realize that they need consistent maintenance and retooling so its going to be brought in house in the companies, because the barrier to learning these integrations are low and companies would need people that are familiar witht heir way of doing things.

Don't people ever learn: we always go through bespoke - cookie cutter phases in all industries throughout history. We first built custom (computer) applications in the 90s. Then SaaS came along. Now custom (AI) applications. Then standardized will come...

Cuban is right about the customization, but 'dead' is the wrong word. It's becoming fluid. We're moving from static SaaS to dynamic, agent-generated software on demand.

Hot take: Mark Cuban is right, but the bottleneck isn’t talent. It’s trust. Small businesses don’t need a dev. They need someone who speaks their language, understands their workflow, and doesn’t oversell them a $50k solution to a $500 problem. The new job title isn’t “AI engineer.” It’s AI translator.

This is the space I live! I have been serving small and medium sized businesses for the past few years providing custom ai and automation solutions! We are growing fast!

Agree. But with more powerful AI coming in the next 1-5 years that 30 million number of small to medium sized businesses might be haved. Or wiped out even more! 🫥

in my opinion, that 33mn SMB number will only increase in the AI era, because now most of the friction to build business, are being removed. one person can build which previously needed literally 10 people. And that applies to almost any business. For software business-related business, it is now a 100x leverage. Now literally 1 person can build what previously needed 100.

Yes and no. How fast can you build a 1-person business before the intelligence of these models gobbles up your competitive edge?

33 million companies who can't afford consultants are about to get AI shoved down their throats by their accountant's nephew. The real job wave is cleanup.

that’s why we built tambo. for product engineers to turn their app into an agent that can speak their UI.

BS. Wrong analogies. If you follow this guy's advice, you're going to end up sleeping under a bridge.

He’s not wrong.

I was extremely early to this. My coworker and I started doing this locally in our hometown (“AI consultancy and integration team”). Let me just tell you one thing, that you probably won’t learn until you get out there and start talking to business owners. The older generation wants nothing to do with AI touching their businesses that they’ve been operating for 20-30 years. Younger business owners have already figured it out.

Nailed it. SMBs do not need a chatbot mascot, they need AI inside quoting, scheduling, invoicing, and follow ups. Winners will be vertical integrators with real workflow context.

I think this is totally right, and it’s bearish for Palantirs business model once this kicks into full gear (given what they charge!)

At face value probably. Most small businesses don't actually need to exist. demand for their products and services have already taken a hit. Going to be non existant when most people find themselves unemployed

nobody talks about the real bottleneck tho. its not building the custom AI, thats the easy part now. its understanding what the business actually needs in the frist place. ive been doing this for 25 years and the gap between what companies say they want vs what they actually need hasnt changed one bit

Isn't this @rebolthq?

This is the most beautiful part of capitalism in my opinion. Those who adjust to change and continue to find ways to give maximum value will always figure out a way to win. It doesn't matter what challenge or new ecosystem we're in. But the problem is, everyone else is stagnant. There's a lot of pain for them. I see so many niches, so many opportunities coming up here in the future. It's gonna be incredible onwards and upwards

The opportunity is real, but the execution challenge is underestimated. Most small to mid-sized companies don't just need customized AI integration, they need someone who understands their actual operational constraints, legacy systems, and workflow realities. The technical implementation is probably the easier part compared to the organizational change management required to make any of this stick. 33 million companies sounds like a massive market until you consider how many of them operate on razor-thin margins and can't afford to experiment with solutions that might not deliver ROI for 12-18 months. The real question is who can deliver value fast enough to justify the investment at that scale.

the SaaS dream was 'one product fits everyone.' the AI reality is 'every company wants its own thing.' the question is whether integration stays labor intensive or gets automated too. today's integrator gold rush might be tomorrow's Zapier equivalent.

That’s a huge opportunity custom AI solutions are going to be in massive demand, especially for small businesses that don’t have in-house tech teams. Cuban’s point highlights a wave of jobs that didn’t exist before.

it's called APIs.

Do we really expect university curriculums to keep pace with rapid AI developments that move faster than a four month semester?

Everything is customized to unique utilization. That's what makes enterprise difficult for AI implementers or workflows. A single workflow doesn't work for all companies.

Spicy take: most teams don’t need more model upgrades, they need less context chaos. Clean inputs still beat shiny demos.

The ICP here will shift often. Consultant build something. Later some company, AI native builds a solution cheaper that scales and has more functionality that is relevant to the buyer, easier to maintain etc. Market shifts. Rinse and repeat. A collection of people or agents is still a company.

“..someone who understands problems & can turn workflows into automated systems using AI.”🖐️🙌