As AI evolves, speculation is growing that the future of enterprise software companies has become uncertain. Jenny Johnson (제니 존슨), CEO of major asset manager Franklin Templeton, warned that AI advances threaten the long-term business models of enterprise software companies.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Johnson said, "When you see AI coding capabilities like Claude, you wonder whether enterprise software companies can survive."

Johnson said she spent a weekend in February this year coding with Anthropic's latest model, Claude Opus 4.6. She said enterprise software companies are still generating huge profits and may have been oversold in the short term, but added that the threat to their long-term business models is real.

The warning is drawing attention as it coincides with large losses in software investments across the private equity industry.

The Financial Times said shares of buyout funds and private credit firms that made big bets on software companies are being shaken. Buyout firms that expected performance fees through company sales this year are considering delaying the timing of disposals.

Johnson interpreted the growing use of continuation vehicles in the private equity industry as a sign that alternative asset managers are having difficulty returning money to investors. She said large institutional investors, such as sovereign wealth funds and pension funds, are not in a situation where they are stepping forward to sharply raise their allocations to private markets.