Can Vertical Software Survive the AI Shift?: Marc Maurer, CHAPTERS Group (EP#581)
October 1, 2026
Co-produced by
Co-produced by
10:00 – Why Vertical Market Software Works
20:29 – Cake Growers vs. Cake Dividers
33:12 – AI Is Melting the Iceberg
49:21 – What Winning Software Companies Will Do Differently
Episode description:
Marc Maurer is COO for Vertical Market Software at CHAPTERS Group, a publicly traded German holding company that invests in small and medium-sized software businesses and holds them for the long term.
In this episode, Marc explains why vertical market software can be so attractive despite operating in very small niches. He talks about businesses serving customers such as orchestras, fire departments and public authorities, and why limited competition can create highly defensible companies with loyal customers. He also explains how CHAPTERS approaches acquisitions and what changes once a company joins the group.
The conversation then turns to AI and how it could reshape the economics of software. Marc argues that software may become dramatically cheaper to build, which could weaken some of the advantages that protected vertical software companies in the past. At the same time, he sees a major opportunity for existing businesses that already have strong distribution and established customer relationships. The challenge is whether they can transform quickly enough to benefit from that position before the market changes around them.
The cover portrait was edited by www.smartportrait.io.
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