It’s no secret that pre-AI era startups are generally getting little love from investors now. Ariel Katz, co-founder and CEO of H1, argues that not all SaaS companies should be painted with the same broad brush.

If you’re a workflow SaaS company, you could vibe code that,” he told TechCrunch. What AI cannot easily replicate is a company that is a data provider at its core.

H1’s entire business is built on selling detailed information about doctors to pharma companies, hospital systems, and health insurers – but the startup might be onto something. Katz thinks that H1’s data could actually be so valuable to AI model makers that they are more likely to become customers than competitors.

CVS Health Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of the CVS/Aetna health giant, must agree that H1 is in no danger of becoming a victim of the “SaaSocalypse.” The investor just led a $40 million round into H1. Despite strong financial fundamentals, companies like H1 aren’t exciting for traditional VCs who are currently consumed with backing AI startups at skyrocketing valuations.

H1 was last valued at $750 million when it raised $100 million in funding led by Altimeter Capital at the height of the Covid-era tech bubble in November 2021. Like other companies that secured capital just before valuations plummeted in 2022, H1 has focused on becoming profitable and growing through acquiring smaller competitors and complementary businesses.