What a $42B Software Co. Really Spends on AI Tools

What a $42B Software Co. Really Spends on AI Tools

Author: Lukas Biewald January 20, 2026 Duration: 1:07:46

“I don't worry about being replaced by AI. I worry about being replaced by someone who's really good at using AI.”

Atlassian has 10,000+ engineers currently split-testing the world’s top AI coding tools, from GitHub Copilot and Cursor to Claude Code.

In this episode, Co-Founder & CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes joins Lukas Biewald to share what their data reveals about the world's best AI tools today.

Hear how 24 years of building a tech giant and a massive internal study on AI productivity have shaped Mike's vision for the future of dev jobs.

Connect with us here:

Mike Cannon-Brookes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mcannonbrookes/?originalSubdomain=au

Atlassian: https://www.linkedin.com/company/atlassian/?viewAsMember=true

Lukas Biewald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lbiewald/

Weights & Biases: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wandb/

00:00 Trailer

01:08 Introduction

03:11 Connecting Technology and Business Teams

07:22 The Impact of AI on Business Workflows

13:26 Developer Productivity and AI

21:03 Measuring Developer Efficiency

25:41 Future of AI in Development

34:59 Legacy Technology and Code Changes

39:29 AI's Role in Developer Productivity

47:40 AI and Junior Developers

52:30 Product-Led Growth and Business Strategy

01:00:29 Core Metrics for Sustainable Growth

01:06:56 Staying Creative in the Tech Industry


Lukas Biewald hosts Gradient Dissent: Conversations on AI, a series that moves beyond theoretical discussions to examine how artificial intelligence is actually built and deployed. Each episode features a direct, unscripted talk with a leading practitioner-you’ll hear from engineers and researchers at places like NVIDIA, Meta, Google, Lyft, and OpenAI. The focus is on the tangible challenges and breakthroughs they encounter, from initial research to the complex reality of putting models into production. This isn't about abstract futures; it's a grounded look at the decisions shaping the field right now. Biewald, bringing his perspective from Weights & Biases, steers conversations toward the practical trade-offs and collaborative efforts that define modern AI work. For anyone in technology or business who wants to understand the mechanics behind the headlines, this podcast offers a rare, candid window into the process. You’ll come away with a clearer sense of how ideas become functional systems and what it really takes to operate at the cutting edge.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Gradient Dissent: Conversations on AI
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