Why Software Eats Everything (And What That Means for You)

In 2011, Marc Andreessen wrote that "software is eating the world." Twelve years later, the meal is nearly complete. But understanding why this happened reveals something important about the future.

The Obvious Examples

You already know the obvious ones. Netflix ate Blockbuster. Amazon ate retail. Spotify ate record stores. Uber ate taxi dispatchers. These are the poster children of digital disruption.

But the interesting story isn't in media and retail. It's in the industries you wouldn't expect.

The Surprising Ones

Agriculture is now a software business. John Deere tractors are computers with wheels. They use GPS, machine learning, and sensors to optimize planting and harvesting. Farmers subscribe to software services. When John Deere's software locks farmers out of repairing their own equipment, it makes headlines—because agriculture depends on code.

Construction, one of the least productive industries for decades, is being transformed by software. BIM (Building Information Modeling) lets architects and contractors simulate buildings before breaking ground. Drones survey sites. AI optimizes material logistics.

Healthcare diagnosis increasingly involves algorithms. Radiology AI can spot tumors that humans miss. Drug discovery uses machine learning to simulate molecular interactions. Your Apple Watch monitors your heart rhythm.

Why Software Wins

Software has unique economics that physical goods can't match:

Zero marginal cost: Once written, software can be copied infinitely for free. A song costs the same to produce whether one person or one billion people listen to it. This is why software companies can grow so fast—serving more customers costs almost nothing.

Continuous improvement: Physical products are frozen at manufacture. Software updates constantly. Your phone gets better over time. Your car can gain features after you buy it. Tesla pushes software updates that improve acceleration, add games, even change how the brakes work.

Data loops: Software learns from usage. More users means more data means better algorithms means more users. Google's search gets better because billions of people use it daily. This flywheel is impossible for physical products.

What This Means

If you're building a business in any industry, you're building a software business—whether you realize it or not.

The restaurant that treats itself as a software company (efficient ordering, data-driven menu changes, delivery optimization) will beat the one that treats software as an afterthought.

The manufacturer that instruments its production line, collects data, and optimizes with algorithms will outcompete the one that doesn't.

The gym, the law firm, the architecture practice—all of them compete on software now, even if they don't write code themselves.

The Second-Order Effects

This shift creates winners and losers you might not expect:

APIs become strategic: Companies that expose their capabilities as software interfaces become platforms. Stripe doesn't just process payments—it lets any developer embed payments in anything. Twilio does the same for communications. These API-first companies capture enormous value.

Talent concentrates: If software creates value everywhere, software talent becomes universally valuable. This is why developer salaries have risen faster than almost any other profession. It's also why every company now competes for the same engineers.

Regulation struggles: Laws written for the physical world don't map cleanly to software. Is Uber a taxi company or a software platform? Is Airbnb a hotel or a website? Regulators are still catching up, and the ambiguity creates both opportunity and risk.

The Limits

Software doesn't eat everything equally. Some things resist:

Physical infrastructure: You can optimize logistics with software, but someone still has to pour concrete. Software helps but doesn't replace.

Human relationships: A therapist, a coach, a mentor—software can augment but not replace genuine human connection. The companies that forget this (see: every chatbot claiming to be your "AI friend") learn the hard way.

Regulation-heavy industries: Healthcare, finance, and legal can adopt software, but compliance requirements slow the pace. This is why fintech moves slower than social media.

What To Do About It

If you're starting a company: Think software-first. Even if you're selling physical products, your competitive advantage increasingly comes from the software layer.

If you're building a career: Software literacy is no longer optional. You don't need to become a programmer, but understanding how software works gives you leverage in any field.

If you're investing: Follow the software. The most valuable companies in every industry will be those that best leverage code. The rest will be commoditized.

Software has eaten most of the world. The question isn't whether your industry will be transformed—it's whether you'll be the one doing the transforming.