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THIS WEEK’S STORY

The “next wave” according to VCs

I’ve had a few chats with investors from different funds lately and they all admit the same thing. The tide is shifting faster than they expected. A new wave is forming and no one wants to be caught on the wrong side of it.

Their fear isn’t about whether AI is big. That part is obvious. Their fear is about being ready with the right surfboard and the right gear to ride it all the way in, without getting wiped out.

That wave is what I call the AI-first products wave. Not “AI sprinkled on top” tools. Not small optimizations inside existing software. But products that could only exist because of AI. Entire categories being redefined at the root.

Whoever positions themselves in this wave will build the next legendary companies.

But here’s the thing: the wave hasn’t fully broken yet. Right now we’re watching the SaaS wave reach its peak. Valuations are sky-high. Year-over-year returns are in double digits. Why? Because companies like Salesforce, Hubspot, and every other giant are integrating AI into what they already have (AI customer service bots, AI-powered search, AI-assisted reporting), making them even more valuable in today’s wave.

The keyword here is integrate. They can’t scrap their entire model and rebuild from zero with an AI-first approach. They’re too big, too slow, too locked into what came before.

That’s why the opportunity for builders today is so exciting. Waves don’t last forever. And when the current SaaS-with-AI wave starts to flatten, the AI-first wave will break wide open.

So if you’re building right now, here’s the play: stay agile, watch the currents, and look for the cracks in legacy systems. Build AI-first products that solve a painful problem of legacy software those giants won’t touch. Think of something as simple as turning plain English into Excel formulas. It doesn’t have to be the next trillion-dollar company.

The key is timing. By solving problems that are useful today, you’re planting a flag in both worlds. You get traction now while positioning yourself for the AI-first wave that’s about to change everything.

The next great companies will come from the builders who see the wave before it breaks.

HEADLINES

Fix AI code with… AI

RIP AI slop code. CodeRabbit just dropped a CLI that runs free, context-aware code reviews before you push.

It works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any other AI coding setup. Think of it as a senior dev catching mistakes before they slip through.

Early examples are wild: fixing logic errors, spotting insecure dependencies, even cleaning up messy AI output.

This might be the missing layer in every AI dev stack.

THIS WEEK’S TIP

Build sexy software

Most apps look like they were designed by engineers who hate beauty.

Here’s the playbook I use to make sure my products feel smooth like butter:

>Study the best (find your north stars)

• Go on Mobbin and study top onboarding flows and app aesthetics

• Screenshot interfaces that make you say “damn, that’s clean”

• Break down what makes them feel premium vs cheap

>Steal design systems

• Use shadcn + 21stdev for components that don’t look like Bootstrap leftovers

• Copy color palettes from apps you admire (Coolors.com works great) and tweak them with tools like Tweakcn

• Browse Dribbble or Behance for fresh inspiration (colors, layouts, screens)

>Focus on micro-interactions

• Add smooth hover states and loading animations

• Use Framer Motion for React or CSS transitions

• Make buttons satisfying to click—small details change everything

>Perfect your spacing & typography

• Stick to consistent spacing (8px, 16px, 24px, 32px system)

• Use max two fonts—one for headers, one for body

• Embrace whitespace. Cramped layouts scream amateur hour

>Test on real devices

• Looks good on desktop doesn’t mean it looks good on mobile

• Always test on actual phones, not just browser dev tools

Beautiful software gets shared. Ugly software gets forgotten.

Make your app so clean users screenshot it just to show their friends. That’s how you win.

Ps: if you wanna build clean apps without needing to research and set up everything from scratch, you can start with my template.

QUICK HITS

• AI’s Energy & Water Strain: Data centers hit record resource use, raising sustainability challenges for AI’s global growth.

• Anthropic vs. Trump Admin on AI Safety: CEO Dario Amodei opposes deregulatory stance, pushing for enforceable transparency and safety rules.

• Huawei Cloud Debuts AI Token Service: New CloudMatrix384-powered service boosts parallel inference and global enterprise compute access.

• NYUAD Space Weather AI Breakthrough: Model predicts solar wind four days ahead with 45% higher accuracy, protecting satellites and power grids.

• Samsung AI Forum Showcases Next-Gen AI: Advances in reasoning, agentic LLMs, and on-device AI for practical consumer use cases.

And That is all for this week!

See you next Saturday!

Filippo

Filippo Pietrantonio

Find me on X, or Book a 1:1 Call