Copilot or competitor - How Gen AI bolsters & buffets UiPath’s Northstar

UiPath’s recent earnings beat and raise provides some evidence that thus far, Gen AI has not been diluitive for the company. As an early leader that is transforming beyond RPA toward end-to-end enterprise automation, UiPath, like all automation providers, has always faced adoption headwinds beyond isolated deployments. In this sense, Gen AI should bolster adoption and be a positive force. The flip side is that widely available tools like chatbots and generalized foundation models could eat away at the low end of the automation TAM, highlighting the urgency for companies like UiPath to move up market and accelerate innovation that brings differentiation from commoditized tools; and, importantly, create distance from embedded AI within mainstream enterprise SaaS platforms like Slack GPT and Salesforce Einstein. 

In this Breaking Analysis we briefly review the recent earnings print from UiPath. We’ll look at ETR survey data that shows Microsoft Power Automate’s impact on the automation market and how it is forcing UiPath to target larger accounts with a more functional product set. As well we’ll look at the impact that AI is having in these larger accounts and test UiPath management assertions that Gen AI will be a tailwind for the company. 

Q2 ‘24 $PATH Earnings Transcript

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4633537-uipath-inc-path-q2-2024-earnings-call-transcript?feed_item_type=news&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=msn.com

Gartner MQ for Robotic Process Automation 

https://www.gartner.com/doc/reprints?id=1-2EDXTGOY&ct=230705&st=sb

Barron’s article frames the quarter and the AI debate

https://www.barrons.com/articles/uipath-stock-earnings-artificial-intelligence-cfde9bcb

Automation Anywhere survey on GenAI adoption in automation use cases

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/generative-ai-emerges-as-essential-tool-for-successful-process-automation-automation-anywhere-survey-finds-301895896.html

Motley Fool Bull/Bear case for UiPath

https://www.fool.com/investing/2023/09/07/uipath-stock-bear-vs-bull/

Power Laws have more power than you think

https://every.to/p/power-laws-have-more-power-than-you-think