Clay vs GTM Tech
$100M milestone. What I'm watching.
If you logged into LinkedIn this week, you’ll be very aware that Clay crossed $100M.
Naturally, I weighed in.
I’ve worked in GTM tech for 15+ years. I’ve never seen a company quite so unique and disruptive.
Every vendor pitch these days gets met with the same question:
“Ok, but can’t we build this in Clay?”
As a user, I see Clay outside of traditional categories. It’s a different verb.
We build in Clay. We use other tools.
As a founder, I’m in awe of their community flywheel, watching it spin faster. They created a movement around “GTM Engineering” that feels real and important.
As Keyplay CEO, I’m navigating the frenemy line. We integrate with them. They could displace us. We must be excellent in our niche.
Their path to $100M is super impressive.
As they sprint toward $500M, here’s what I’m watching:
1. How does ZoomInfo respond?
Clay is disruptive to everyone, but especially ZoomInfo.
It’s a tale of two opposite approaches. ZI owns the data; Clay orchestrates the network. If one field out of 100M is wrong, ZI takes the heat. Clay has the enviable position of giving you data, but not being liable for the quality.
But ZI has control, and control means they can invest to make the reliable and AI-ready (without making users do extra waterfalls and GTM engineering).
wrote a great piece about the investments ZI is making to be the best “unified data layer.” If ZI could turn data ownership into an undeniable strength (instead of a liability), that’s a real counterpunch to Clay’s network model.This is a battle for mindshare. Clay is winning today. But ZI definitely won’t roll-over, especially in the enterprise.
2. Does Clay expand beyond enrichment?
Enrichment made Clay beloved. Now they’re moving into signals, sequencing, audience management.
More “solution-y,” less pure orchestration. Makes sense for Enterprise consolidation, but it’s a high bar. The friendly Brooklyn disruptors suddenly look aggressive — taking shots at Gong, Outreach, 6sense, and probably more.
The question: will customers want Clay as the ultimate consolidator?
3. GTM Engineers or AI Agents?
The GTM Engineering movement is smart right now. AI + GTM data is too complex for most business users. But it’s easy to imagine a world where business users skip GTM Engineers entirely and work with AI Agents.
Clay’s Sculptor is a step in that direction. They are getting to workflows with a prompt. If the UX becomes “talk to an agent,” how do GTMEs evolve? Do business users adopt? And do power users drift to n8n, Claude Code, or whatever comes next?
Exciting times. 🍿
What else are you watching in the Clay vs. GTM landscape?