#6 OpenAI's pivot

In my previous edition, I talked about ChatGPT’s integration into Apple’s Software. It certainly looks like OpenAI’s research on Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) has taken a backseat.

In the tweet, you can see how it has been mentioned about OpenAI’s pivot from a research organization to become a for-profit, regular company. But what do the terms ‘b2b saas’ mean here?

Let’s talk about the former first. B2B stands for business-to-business, and refers to transactions between businesses. Think a whole manufacturer who sells to retailers, who then sell to customers. These transactions, being between businesses, usually entail high volumes and hence better profits. Other types of transaction models include D2C (Direct-to-Consumer) which entails selling directly to the consumer, eliminating the need of any middleman (wholesaler, distributor etc). The company oversees the whole process, from manufacturing to delivery, advertising the product through its own channels. This helps brands reduce the steps and the time involved.

More common types include B2C (Business-to-Consumer, think Amazon, Netflix, Uber), C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer, think eBay), C2B (Consumer-to-Business, example would include freelancers on Upwork who sell their services to companies), among others.

On the other hand, SaaS (Software-as-a-Service), is a cloud computing service model and refers to softwares which are provided as services. Similar types include IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service) which includes offering computing resources over the internet, PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service) which allows users to run and manage applications without having to deal with the base of it.

Instead of doing a deep dive into the theory of it all, see some examples below:

• Salesforce - Follows a B2B transaction model and provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software to other businesses (B2B, SaaS)

• Notion - Offers free productivity tools in the form of templates etc, directly to individuals for free, also includes a paid model with premium subscriptions (B2C, SaaS)

• Zomato - Follows a B2C model, connecting restaurants to consumers through its software, and acts as an aggregator for food discovery and ordering (B2C, SaaS)

• Amazon - Primarily follows a B2C model, acting as an e-commerce platform, with some B2B and C2C elements

• Uber - Connects drivers directly to consumers using its platform (D2C)

• MamaEarth, Sugar Cosmetics - Manufacture their own products and sell directly to consumers, overseeing their entire distribution and marketing (D2C)

• Upwork - Mostly used by freelancers to sell their skills to companies to earn an income (C2B)

• eBay - Acts as an online marketplace for consumers to buy and sell, following a C2C model

• Netflix - Provides an online streaming service for movies, TV shows etc., delivering content directly to consumers (D2C, SaaS)

• Spotify - Allows users to stream music for free from its software directly, with premium users have accessing to more features (D2C)

Edit: A common feedback I have got for this edition is that the examples are not clear regarding B2B, D2C, etc. I have made changes accordingly. Please let me know if more can be improved.

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