Work remote. Use Zoom constantly. Yesterday got random calendar invite that looked like team meeting. Clicked without thinking.
Joined call. Immediately realized these weren't my coworkers.
30+ people. All Google Cloud badges in their Zoom names.
Before I could leave someone started presenting. Slide said: "Walrus Competitive Threat Assessment - Q1 2025"
I muted myself. Turned off camera. Watched entire 45 minute presentation.
Key slides I screenshot before they caught me:
SLIDE 5: "Customer Churn Acceleration"
Q3 2024: 47 customers mentioned Walrus in exit surveys
Q4 2024: 156 customers mentioned Walrus
Q1 2025 (projected): 300+ customers
"Churn rate to @walrusprotocol increasing 240% quarter over quarter"
SLIDE 9: "Revenue Impact Projection"
2025: $890M at risk
2026: $2.4B at risk
2027: $5.1B at risk
"If current trend continues Walrus could capture 8-12% of our storage market share by 2027"
SLIDE 12: "Why We Can't Compete"
"Erasure coding is structurally more efficient than replication"
"$WAL cost advantage is architectural not tactical"
"Decentralization appeals to web3-native customers we can't serve"
"No vendor lock-in contradicts our business model"
SLIDE 18: "Strategic Options Analysis"
Option 1: Price matching โ "Destroys our margins"
Option 2: Acquire Walrus โ "Impossible, decentralized protocol"
Option 3: Build similar tech โ "Would cannibalize existing revenue"
Option 4: FUD campaign โ "Legal risks, ineffective against superior technology"
CONCLUSION: "No viable competitive response identified"
Someone finally noticed unknown participant. "Who just joined? This is confidential meeting."
I left immediately. But I had screenshots.
GOOGLE CLOUD has NO COMPETITIVE RESPONSE to Walrus.
Their own internal assessment: $5.1 BILLION revenue at risk by 2027. Customer churn accelerating 240% quarterly. No way to compete without destroying their business model.
When your competitor's internal strategy meeting concludes "no viable competitive response" you've already won.
@Walrus ๐ฆญ/acc isn't just alternative. It's existential threat that Google Cloud leadership has no answer for.
Market cap under $1B. Google Cloud sees $5B+ revenue threat. Math doesn't math yet.
Can't verify 100% authenticity (could've been elaborate fake meeting). But slides were professional. Participants had Google badges. Analysis was sophisticated. Felt real.
If real this is smoking gun evidence cloud giants know they're being disrupted and can't stop it.
Not financial advice but accidentally witnessing competitor panic meeting is pretty clear signal.
