Applied Intelligence: The operating system powering the next wave of SaaS

By Rohit Kedia, Chief Executive Officer, Xoriant

In 2025, AI startups captured roughly 53% of total global venture capital funding, accounting for more than half of all global startup investments in the first half of the year, according to a Crunchbase analysis. At the same time, nearly 92% of Indian SaaS companies integrated AI into their products, with approximately 87% identifying themselves as AI-powered or AI-enabled.

Yet, beneath this widespread adoption lies a growing disconnect. While most SaaS companies now use AI in some form, only a small fraction apply it in ways that meaningfully influence business outcomes for their customers. For many, AI has become a layer of embellishment added to match up to competition or address margin pressures rather than helping customers with value realization.

This difference between using AI to ‘create’ value vs. peanut buttering it to just ‘do’ has become one of the ...