A new article from Sequoia Capital's Julien Bek argues that the next $1T AI company won't sell software, it will sell completed work, with AI operating behind the scenes.

The industry is shifting from AI copilots, which help professionals perform tasks, to AI autopilots, which deliver the end result directly. Instead of helping accountants close the books, AI companies will simply close them.

Today, software engineering accounts for nearly 50% of all AI agent usage, demonstrating that AI has already reached the point where it can handle most intelligence-heavy work autonomously. As models continue to improve, the same transition is expected across legal, finance, healthcare, insurance, IT, and procurement.

According to Sequoia, businesses spend roughly $6 on services for every $1 spent on software, making labor budgets a far larger market than software subscriptions.

The firm's thesis is that the biggest AI-native companies will first automate outsourced, standardized services, where customers already pay for outcomes, before expanding into more judgment-intensive work as AI capabilities continue to evolve.