The Most Innovative Companies No Longer Rely On Product Roadmaps Due To AI

InnovationVenture CapitalThe Most Innovative Companies No Longer Rely On Product Roadmaps Due To AIByJosipa Majic Predin,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I’m a founder, writer and lecturer focusing on VC funds.Follow AuthorApr 22, 2026, 05:54pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.TOPSHOT - A live demonstration uses artificial intelligence and facial recognition in dense crowd spatial-temporal technology at the Horizon Robotics exhibit at the Las Vegas Convention Center during CES 2019 in Las Vegas on January 10, 2019. (Photo by DAVID MCNEW / AFP) (Photo by DAVID MCNEW/AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty ImagesWhen Colossus reporters finally tracked down Notion's "2026 Roadmap," they found not a feature list but a single sentence: be undeterred by trivial things, hold conviction in your worldview, and stay nimble enough to react to what actually matters. That document captures something about how Notion, now valued at $10 billion, builds product that no McKinsey slide deck would sanction. Cofounder Simon Last put it directly when asked about centralized planning: "What's the point? Everything's changing all the time anyway."Product leader Peter Yang, whose newsletter reaches 140,000+ tech professionals, framed this as a broader thesis: the more innovative the company, the less of a rigid annual roadmap it actually has. The data behind Notion's growth makes the argument harder to dismiss.Notion has raised $352 million in total funding, with Sequoia Capital, Coatue Management, and Index Ventures among its backers. Its most recent tender offer in late 2025 held the valuation at $11 billion, effectively flat since 2021, while revenue grew roughly 19x over the same period. That compression in multiple, paired with explosive top-line growth, is exactly what institutional investors want to see before a...