Claude AI Killed My Business: Startup Founder Warns of Ruthless AI Disruption

New Delhi: San Francisco entrepreneur Ira Bodnar, founder of the advertising technology startup Ryze, has publicly accused Anthropic’s Claude AI of rendering her company obsolete almost overnight. In a candid post on X (formerly Twitter), Bodnar described waking up to discover that her fast-growing business had collapsed after Claude introduced new features that directly competed with her product.

Ryze had built an AI agent designed to automate ad management across Google and Meta platforms. The tool allowed clients to grant access to their accounts, enabling the system to manage campaigns seamlessly. Within just two months of launch, Bodnar reported securing several hundred paying customers and achieving a 70% deal close rate. However, when Claude AI, alongside another AI company Manus, rolled out connectors for Meta Ads, Ryze’s competitive edge evaporated. Bodnar said her close rate plummeted to 20%, effectively making her product category redundant.

In her post, Bodnar wrote: “I woke up today and Claude killed my startup. We got several hundred paying clients in 2 months, was growing like crazy. One Claude/Manus feature and our close rate dropped from 70% to 20%. Claude just made our entire product category obsolete.”

She explained that while Claude currently cannot make direct changes to ad accounts and lacks access to Google Ads, its analytical capabilities already overlap with Ryze’s offering. Bodnar warned that within months, Claude would likely expand its functionality, leaving little room for independent tools like hers. She painted a picture of a near future where marketers simply instruct Claude to “launch a million-dollar ad campaign” and the AI executes flawlessly, eliminating the need for specialized SaaS platforms.

Beyond her own company’s collapse, Bodnar raised broader concerns about the future of marketing technology. She predicted that several categories of the go-to-market (GTM) stack would soon be disrupted. Outreach automation and infrastructure, she argued, are “dead soon,” as AI agents will be able to independently set up domains and run campaigns. Creative tools for small businesses may also vanish, with Meta and Google expected to generate ad creatives directly inside their platforms. Conversely, she suggested that enterprise-level workflows, customer data platforms, and complex engagement systems for large brands would remain resilient.

Despite the setback, Bodnar emphasised that her team had already begun pivoting. Ryze is now focusing on building complex workflows for large ad agencies managing hundreds of accounts, as well as offering AI-native services to small businesses. She noted that while tools may die, “the hustle doesn’t,” stressing that human marketers with taste, storytelling instincts, and brand-building skills will remain essential in an AI-driven landscape.

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