Amjad Masad, CEO of Replit, a startup specializing in AI-powered coding tools, made a bold prediction at a recent Semafor Tech event in San Francisco. According to Masad, many companies may be just months away from being able to develop and operate software without the need for a traditional engineering team.
Masad shared insights from his conversations with founders of startups backed by Y Combinator, who have been using Replit’s tools to build their products. These founders reported that they initially thought they would need to hire a chief technology officer, but instead turned to Replit to see how much of their product they could develop without hiring a software developer. “We’re on month three and haven’t had to hire anyone,” they told Masad. “We think of Replit as our CTO.”
While Masad believes that the ability to run an entire company without hiring engineers is not yet imminent, he predicts it could become a reality within the next year to 18 months. This development is part of a larger trend in the tech industry, where AI-powered coding aides are increasingly being used to automate software development.
The rise of AI coding tools has raised questions about the future of software engineering jobs, which have been in high demand in Silicon Valley. Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan recently noted that 25% of startups in its winter class generated nearly all of their code using AI tools. At Microsoft’s developer conference this week, coders expressed concerns that these tools could replace junior engineers.
The potential of AI to transform various industries was also discussed at the Semafor event. Jill Chase, a partner at CapitalG, Alphabet’s independent growth fund, emphasized the importance of trusting in the promise of new technologies, even if their current applications are not perfect. She cited the use of AI in drug discovery as an example, where improvements in AI technology are expected to lead to faster development of new therapies.
“You have to look at whatever new technology comes out and assume it works,” Chase said. “As an investor, you have to live in that space, because otherwise you run the risk of investing in categories that are just not relevant in a longer period of time or applications that are limited by the technology today.”
