The AI Arms Race: How 'Content Flood' Reshapes The Map | Paradigm Platforms - Episode 2

Feb 22, 2026

Sam Rahman, Portfolio Manager at Hedgeye AM who focuses on platform and software investing. He explains the shift from apps to agent layers and a three-tier margin cascade reshaping SaaS economics. He explores who will build enterprise agents, why content flood drives GPU and CDN demand, and how Meta and other platforms face bifurcated risks and opportunities.

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INSIGHT

AI Agents Will Supplant Traditional App Front Ends

The application layer is being unbundled as users will interact primarily with AI agents that orchestrate across systems of record.
Agents sit on top of connectors (Salesforce, ServiceNow, Workday) and use APIs to run workflows, replacing manual UI interaction.

INSIGHT

Inference Margin Cascade Forces SaaS Margin Compression

A three-tier inference margin cascade compresses incumbent SaaS margins because model providers and hyperscalers capture variable token and compute margins.
Enterprises will question paying multiple vendor margins when they can access model layers directly and avoid vendor lock-in.

ADVICE

Enable Enterprise Self-Service Agents

Give enterprises tools to build and share their own agents because domain workflows and data typically live inside the company.
Provide skill-like primitives (prompted algorithms) so HR or teams can create agents for onboarding, reports, and share across users.

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Join us for an exclusive discussion with Sam Rahman, Portfolio Manager at Hedgeye Asset Management, as we dig into the accelerating platform shift from the application layer to the agent layer and what it means for software valuations, competitive positioning, and the broader investment landscape. We will walk through key elements of our agent layer thesis — including the three-tier margin cascade that is structurally repricing enterprise software, why the February Cowork selloff is a preview of what's ahead, and how the "content flood" dynamic reshapes the winner/loser map across consumer platforms and media. We will also spend time on Meta's unique positioning — dominant in advertising AI but facing a real bifurcation between business-side strength and consumer-side agent risk — and discuss how to think about software stack winners and losers as the market moves from "agents are theoretical" to "agents are displacing real workflows."

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