The next generation of startups may not sell software. They will sell completed work.
I'm in Las Vegas following Oracle AI World 2026, and the announcements shaping the event point to an important change: artificial intelligence is moving from helping people work to executing entire processes. What does that mean for Brazil and for anyone building a startup?
Over the past few weeks, I traveled through California and China, visiting technology companies, discovering new solutions and talking to entrepreneurs from different parts of the world. Now I'm in Las Vegas, following Oracle AI World 2026.
One thing has become increasingly clear in those conversations: we are starting to discuss artificial intelligence differently.
Until recently, almost everything revolved around models. Which was smarter? Which wrote better code? Which produced the best text or images?
Those questions still matter, but another discussion is gaining ground.
What happens when artificial intelligence stops merely helping someone work and starts doing part of the work for them?
That is one of the main messages emerging from Oracle's announcements this Monday.
I did not attend the opening keynote in person, but I'm here at the event and took a close look at what the company is presenting and, above all, what it means beyond the Oracle ecosystem.
Looking only at the product names, it might seem like another series of enterprise launches. But I believe a much bigger change is underway.
Software is starting to do the work
To understand why these announcements matter, it helps to remember that Oracle operates in a fundamental layer of thousands of companies: the systems that manage finance, people, inventory, procurement and sales.
Its Oracle Fusion application suite brings those business management tools together.
And it is inside those systems that the company is incorporating a new generation of artificial intelligence.
Today's announcements include 25 agentic applications available for different business areas.
But what does that mean in practice?
Imagine the difference between asking AI to analyze a spreadsheet and asking it to investigate a financial discrepancy, consult information across different systems, identify possible causes and prepare a correction for approval.
In the first case, AI helps someone work. In the second, it participates in executing the process.
Another interesting announcement was Fusion Companion, a technology that interprets a user's goal and coordinates the tools, agents and approvals needed to carry out a particular activity.
Fusion Agentic Home is an interface within Oracle Fusion where people can delegate tasks to agents and track their execution.
Think of a manager who needs to resolve a procurement problem. Instead of navigating multiple screens, consulting contracts, checking suppliers and manually initiating approvals, they could describe the problem and let the system coordinate the authorized steps.
Oracle also presented the ability to access these capabilities through tools such as ChatGPT.
That points to something interesting: users may no longer need such a detailed understanding of each software interface to get their work done.
If AI understands the goal and can execute the process, software's value starts shifting from the tool to the outcome.
What does that change for someone building a startup?
This discussion particularly interests me because I have spent much of my career building technology companies.
At Shawee, I saw how software could transform hackathon organization. Later, at Rocketseat, I experienced the evolution of tools and how developers learned to build products.
Today, through NewHack, I frequently talk to founders who are creating AI-based solutions.
And there is one question I consider increasingly important.
If a startup sells software that helps someone perform a particular activity, what happens when a larger platform starts performing that same activity automatically?
Imagine a startup offering a tool for analyzing corporate expenses.
Its product organizes information, generates reports and helps managers identify savings opportunities.
Now imagine the customer's own financial system incorporating an agent capable of analyzing contracts, identifying spending outside company policies and recommending or executing authorized actions.
The startup does not necessarily lose its market. But its value proposition starts to face questions.
It may need to offer a more specialized solution, integrate different systems or even change how it charges for its product.
For decades, much of the SaaS market grew by selling software subscriptions and licenses.
AI creates room for models where customers pay for documents processed, operations completed or outcomes delivered.
That does not mean the end of SaaS. It means parts of the industry may need to rethink what they are actually selling.
And there is an enormous difference between selling access to a tool and taking responsibility for doing a job.
Big tech has an advantage, but that does not eliminate room for startups
There is an important aspect to this transformation.
Oracle is not starting from scratch. It already has customers, installed systems, enterprise data and business relationships built over decades.
That represents an enormous competitive advantage.
A startup can develop an excellent AI experience, but it still needs to convince a customer to buy its solution, integrate it with existing systems and trust it to execute important processes.
On the other hand, large platforms cannot solve every problem in every industry.
And that is precisely where I see opportunities.
Startups can build specialized solutions for markets such as agribusiness, logistics, healthcare, manufacturing and financial services.
They can also connect different systems, which is especially relevant for companies using technology from multiple vendors.
But there is one point I consider fundamental: an impressive AI demonstration does not necessarily mean a functioning business.
Real companies have incomplete data, specific rules, legacy processes and unexpected situations.
An agent needs to know when to execute an action, when to request approval and when to recognize that it does not have enough information.
The next generation of AI startups will need to master both the technology and the processes they intend to automate.
Brazil may have an interesting opportunity in this transformation
Brazil has a large enterprise market, complex industries and countless operations that still depend on manual work, spreadsheets and systems that do not communicate with one another.
At the same time, we have entrepreneurs and technology professionals who understand those problems deeply.
A Brazilian startup that understands the particularities of a tax process, a logistics operation or a customer service workflow may find opportunities that a global platform cannot address in the same depth.
We do not necessarily need to develop the world's most advanced AI model to build relevant companies using AI.
We can create value by combining existing models with specialized knowledge, data, integrations and distribution.
And another interesting movement is underway: large technology companies are creating pathways for startups to build products within their ecosystems.
Oracle itself has the Oracle Startup Growth Engine, a program aimed at startups with validated products and growth potential.
The initiative offers possibilities for infrastructure credits, technical guidance, enterprise sales preparation and access to Oracle Cloud Marketplace, a platform where companies can make solutions available to customers in the Oracle ecosystem.
Beyond infrastructure, the interesting point is the possibility of getting closer to large enterprise customers.
For a B2B startup, distribution can be as important as technology.
The program presented on the official website has specific conditions for its European operation, and participation and benefits depend on assessment. It is worth following availability and the criteria applicable to Brazilian startups.
For anyone building an enterprise-focused AI solution, it is an initiative worth watching.
Explore Oracle Startup Growth Engine
The question founders should consider
Oracle AI World is still taking place here in Las Vegas, and we have more days of presentations, demonstrations and conversations ahead.
I want to use this time to better understand how these technologies are being applied, what outcomes companies are achieving and where limitations remain.
But today's announcements already reinforce a perception I have been developing throughout these trips.
The next phase of artificial intelligence will not be defined only by models that give better answers.
It will increasingly be shaped by systems capable of understanding context, coordinating activities and executing processes reliably.
For large companies, this represents an opportunity to redesign operations. For developers, it changes some of the skills needed to build products.
And for founders, it opens a discussion that goes far beyond adding AI to software.
Perhaps the most important question for the next generation of startups is not what software we will build, but what work we can do better than any other alternative.
It is a shift in perspective worth following closely.
And over the coming days, I want to keep sharing what is being discussed here and what it might mean for Brazil's technology ecosystem.