#185 - Is SaaS Really Dead? AI Agents, Vibe Coding and Repositioning with Antony Cousins, VP Marketing at Meltwater

After a trillion‑dollar sell‑off in software stocks and the so‑called “SaaSpocalypse”, it is not just founders who are nervous - CMOs and marketing leaders are questioning the future of their products and positioning. In this episode of the FINITE Podcast we sit down with Antony Cousins, VP Product at Meltwater, to interrogate the death‑of‑SaaS narrative head‑on. They unpack how investor decks, agentic AI and vibe‑coded tools like Claude Cowork have fuelled the story that AI will replace subscriptions. Ant brings a rare perspective, combining a career in Ministry of Defence tech roles with frontline communications work in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Arab Spring, leadership in AI startups and now product leadership at Meltwater. He has spent the last decade at the intersection of AI, media intelligence and reputation.If you are a B2B marketing leader wondering how AI will affect your revenue, this conversation will help you separate existential risk from lazy narrative – and design for growth, not just survival.Inside you’ll find…Why “SaaS is dead” is an oversimplified narrative – and where AI agents and vibe‑coded tools genuinely threaten software.How data moats, long‑term memory and UX become the defensible edge in an AI‑native SaaS ecosystem.What CMOs and agencies should change now: commercial models, junior hiring and how they collaborate with software providers.