Clay hits $3B while GTM tools fragment

ISSUE #268

The old growth plays are dissolving.

Demand gen now requires systems thinking. Sales workflows need orchestration, not just automation. Product launches depend more on creator relationships than press coverage.

Which creates an interesting choice: do you squeeze more juice from existing strategies, or do you look to blend disciplines as a growth lever?

In this week's roundup, we cover:

• GTM tools are fragmenting faster than anyone can keep up: Clay hits $3B while legacy players merge and LLM integrations add moats
  

• How to get distribution for product launches: why building an ecosystem of influencers matters more than press
  

• The partnership between PMs and Growth teams: why growth execution becomes the differentiators that matter

Let's dive in!

Ian at SaaS Weekly

THIS WEEK IN SAAS
Trends across the industry

🔨 GTM Tools | Traditional demand gen is becoming a technical discipline
Clay announced a $100M Series C at a $3.1B valuation, just six months after its $40M Series B (New York Times). AI wave aside, Clay has been fueling a growing demand for “go-to-market engineers” who script and automate modern pipeline creation.

Meanwhile, the space is fragmenting fast. Clari and Salesloft merged, Unify raised a B round, and Salesforce keeps acquiring (Bluebirds), while HubSpot integrates with Claude (Source).

Why it matters: The data layer has been commoditized – every vendor has contact and company info. The value has moved upstream to orchestration, where you need technical fluency to build systems that work together.

🤖 AI Models | GPT-5 can one-shot entire web apps
GPT-5 dropped yesterday, and early testers are calling it "the closest to AGI we've ever been" – one-shotting code conflicts and full-stack apps that stumped o3 and Claude (Latent Space).

Why it matters: GPT-5 represents a shift toward tool-thinking rather than chat-thinking. It excels at parallel tool calling and building production-ready apps.

✍️ Content Strategy | HubSpot's content mix shifted from brand-led to personality-led ahead of AI
HubSpot bought The Hustle in 2021, betting that B2B would look more like B2C, with creators owning attention. It now generates more demand from personality-led content than traditional educational content (LinkedIn).

Why it matters: As AI commoditizes generic content, audiences increasingly want to learn from people they trust rather than faceless brands. Companies are adopting a blended approach that combines creator programs, podcast networks, and newsletters, emphasizing individual voices over brand messaging.

🗺 GTM Strategy | Most teams bolt AI onto broken workflows, others redesign first
A GTM leader at Momentum runs 8 AI agents by redesigning workflows to separate human leverage from agent automation…before buying any tools (GTM Strategist).

Why it matters: Teams looking for that “AI edge” know when agents should hand off to humans. It starts by mapping workflows end-to-end.

GROWTH PLAYS IN PRACTICE
Perspectives backed by experience

🚀 Product marketing | 6 min read | MKT1 Newsletter
How should we be thinking about product launches in 2025?

In theory: The latest Kramer-verse explores how the product launch playbook has shifted. A lot to think about, but the one way that stood out to me was applied distribution. Here's why.

The old playbook (write blog post, pitch journalists, post on Product Hunt) doesn't move the needle on launches anymore. Today, your ecosystem becomes the channel.

For starters, the press rarely covers feature launches, and even if they do, it won't drive adoption. The teams winning today build their own distribution engine powered by people who already have their audience's trust: customers, creators, partners, and community members.

In practice:

• Engage your ecosystem early. Give creators, partners, and customers a preview before launch day. Let them test, provide feedback, and build authentic stories around real usage.
  

• Equip them with narratives. Trade the press release for real proof points, videos, and context. Help them say something worth posting.
  

• Layer your ecosystem activation. Creators show the product in action through videos. Customers validate that it works on webinars. Partners co-host events in the weeks after launch.

My take: If you're a PMM at a growth-stage company, this is where you win distribution battles. You may not have the brand recognition for press coverage, but you do have relationships.

Your best launch assets are the proof points from people your audience already follows. I’d recommend building your ecosystem now, not two weeks before launch.

🎬 Product & Team structure | 8 min read | Aatir Abdul Rauf at Behind Product Lines
What's the right team structure for product launch success?

In theory: The old trio (PM, Engineering, Design) worked when building software was the bottleneck.

Now, AI is commoditizing code creation, while making everything else more challenging. When your competitors can ship features as fast as you can, positioning and growth execution become the differentiators that matter.

What's changing? A strategic partnership between Product Manager, Product Marketer, and Growth Owner.

PM owns the "what" and "how." PMM owns the "who" and "why." Growth Owner becomes the catalyst and accelerator.

In practice:

• Cross-educate roles. Run simple training sessions where each person explains what they think the others do. Build alignment early.
  

• Create shared accountability. Co-own launch success metrics – adoption rates, qualitative feedback, and early customer satisfaction scores.
  

• Insert growth only when ready. Work backwards from highest-value customers to identify exact content consumption and trial behavior patterns, then create targeted campaigns to replicate these paths for similar prospects.

My take: At a growth-stage company, you've got generalists doing different things.

The best launches happen when you're all in the same room. Start with messaging and positioning framing, layer in product details and features, then collaborate on the growth workplan.

Clear ownership doesn't mean working in silos—it means everyone knows their role when building a launch strategy together.

TOP READS FROM LAST WEEK

1. Google is now indexing shared ChatGPT conversations (LinkedIn)

2. What GTM teams are doing with ChatGPT (Growth Unhinged)

3. Your brand REALLY needs better copy (On Brand)