As the post-pandemic software-as-a-service (SaaS) landscape stabilizes, a new operational mantra is taking hold: automate before you augment. Startups across the SaaS spectrum are tightening hiring budgets and funneling that capital into AI initiatives—from deploying internal copilots to investing in AI infrastructure.
With both investors and customers placing a premium on AI readiness, SaaS companies are betting on technology, not headcount, to drive the next phase of growth.
Take SuperOps, for instance. The startup, which builds IT management tools for managed service providers (MSPs), has strategically paused hiring.
“We are prioritizing investment in tools that help us scale efficiently and add greater value,” said Arvind Parthiban, founder and CEO, SuperOps. “It’s not just fewer roles, it’s a fundamental rethinking of how we work. We’re focusing on augmenting processes with AI, reskilling teams, and redesigning our org structure to make the most of both people and technology.”
Many founders argue that AI offers a better return on investment than traditional hiring, particularly in a capital-conscious environment.
‘Uber AI mode’ is on
At Atomicwork, cofounder Vijay Rayapati calls it the “Uber AI mode.” Roughly 20 percent of their original hiring budget now fuels AI tools, copilots, and automation infrastructure. “AI pays back in less than 12 months; a full-time hire often takes 18 to 24,” he noted.
Atomicwork, which is building a modern service management platform for enterprise IT, uses AI across the stack—from code generation and QA to marketing and customer support.
“We’re still hiring, but it’s very focused—AI roles or full-stack engineers. No more generalist engineers. We’ve replaced a lot of rote work with agents, copilots and automation,” Rayapati said. “We’re doing in 2025 with one-third the team what would have needed triple the headcount a decade ago.”
Also read: AI sparks SaaS revival as enterprises unlock budgets in 2025
This shift aligns neatly with what investors now expect. With capital efficiency and productivity metrics under scrutiny, SaaS firms that can demonstrate high revenue per employee (RPE) and expanding gross margins are finding favour.
“The default earlier was — to grow and you had to hire. Now, there's a different way to grow: automate with AI first, then hire only if needed…It's not about going slow on hiring, it's about doing things better and faster. Hiring adds friction; AI adds velocity,” said Prasanna Krishnamoorthy, investor and cofounder of SaaS accelerator fund Upekkha.
"If an AI tool can respond in under a minute, why hire someone who will take longer and cost more?" he added.
Lean teams, high output
The playbook is also evident in lean startups like InVideo, a SaaS platform that helps users create videos using AI templates and automation. Despite serving millions of users, InVideo has maintained a compact team by leaning heavily into internal AI copilots for content generation, product workflows, and support functions.
Siva Rajamani, cofounder of Everstage, a sales commission automation platform, echoes a similar strategy.
“We haven’t shifted budgets completely, but we’ve definitely created an experimental budget for AI tools and infrastructure,” he said. “Our hiring continues due to revenue growth, but we’re far more conscious now. If a team’s productivity can be enhanced with AI, we question if a new hire is really needed.”
According to Rajamani, many SaaS companies are quietly reserving 10–20% of their software spend budget to experiment with AI tools. “This is just the beginning,” he said. “In the next few years, I expect this spend to balloon as the ROI becomes more obvious.”
Redefining org design
This AI-first mindset is triggering a profound redesign of team structures. At many companies, org design is being reimagined—not to replace humans, but to amplify them.
At SuperOps, leadership meetings now begin with a review of AI adoption across departments. “This isn’t a side experiment anymore,” said Parthiban.
“AI is part of the core strategy. We’re training teams, integrating AI tools into daily workflows, and designing roles around human-plus-AI productivity. The ones who evolve with this change will emerge stronger.”
Rayapati agrees. “Boards and CEOs are zeroed in on capital efficiency. Moving from 'just-in-case' hiring to AI-driven productivity is not just smart—it’s necessary. AI-native companies will be the winners in this decade.”
Speaking of cost-savings for companies, Krishnamoorthy said that for larger companies it might show on the books but smaller ones it is long-term savings.
“AI tools are not expensive — maybe $20 to $40 per person per month. A five-person team using three tools? That’s $300 a month — and you’re getting a lot more done…Will the savings show up in company books? Not always directly — it’s foregone hiring, not direct cost-cutting,” he said.
Guarded Optimism, Tactical Experiments
For some founders, like Saravana Kumar of Kovai.co, the transition is more cautious. “We’ve definitely slowed down hiring,” he said. “It’s a conscious decision. We’re not laying off, but we are investing more in tools than people right now.”
The underlying sentiment? AI is no longer a future bet—it’s a present imperative. As the macroeconomic pressures of the last few years wane, SaaS leaders are choosing to build resilient, efficient companies by default.
The question is no longer if AI should be part of the growth strategy, but how fast companies can adopt it.
Looking ahead
Even among companies still growing their teams, the bar for hiring is rising. Roles need to justify not just cost, but productivity impact relative to AI alternatives. And those alternatives are growing smarter and more integrated by the day—from copilots for sales and support to agents that write, test, and ship code.
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