Software Stocks Gain After Nvidia's Huang Dispels SaaSpocalypse Fears

By Mauro Orru

Shares of major software companies logged gains after Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang said artificial-intelligence agents had the potential to significantly boost the sector, brushing aside fears that the technology could force many to go out of business.

Software stocks have taken a beating in recent months as AI tools improve at a dizzying pace, prompting some investors to question whether the technology might one day replace the services for which software-as-a-service, or SaaS, companies charge clients. Salesforce, Intuit, Workday and other software stocks shed a big chunk of their value earlier this year in a market rout dubbed the SaaSpocalypse.

However, Huang said Monday at Nvidia GTC conference in Taipei, that the rise of agentic AI--which allows users to delegate tasks to AI and let the technology complete them autonomously--could reignite the fortunes of software stocks.

Salesforce shares are up over 4% premarket, with Intuit up 2% and Workday up 4%. In Europe, shares of Germany's SAP are up more than 7%, while France's Dassault Systemes is up over 5%.

"A lot of people have said, Jensen, AI is coming. Agentic AI is coming. Therefore, all of the software companies are going to go out of business. I said it's exactly the opposite because there are going to be so many agents," Huang said in his keynote address.

"The world is no longer limited by the number of people. Therefore those agents are going to use more tools than ever. This is actually an incredible time to be a software company, but the software has to be presented to the agent in a way that the agent can use it," he added.

Write to Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 01, 2026 09:46 ET (13:46 GMT)