The integration of artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping technology departments, leading to smaller, more agile teams and a dramatic acceleration in software development. This shift, observed within media and technology company Axios, signals a broader transformation where the primary challenge is no longer the speed of coding but the human capacity to adapt to rapid change.
In a move reflecting this new reality, the company recently restructured its product and technology organization, reducing its staff from 63 to 43 people. This decision was made in anticipation of the efficiency gains delivered by AI tools that are now becoming commonplace in the software engineering world.
Key Takeaways
- AI tools are enabling software engineers to complete projects in days that previously took months.
- Some tech companies are restructuring their teams, resulting in smaller headcounts due to increased AI-driven productivity.
- The bottleneck in development is shifting from writing code to the ability of humans to manage and absorb constant change.
- Business strategies are adapting, with a move away from long-term software contracts toward shorter, more flexible agreements.
The New Reality of Software Development
The world of software engineering is undergoing one of its most significant transformations in decades. According to Dan Cox, Chief Technology Officer at Axios, the speed at which his team can now deliver features is unprecedented. Cox, who has over two decades of experience at major tech firms including Meta, Yahoo, and Amazon, provides a clear example of this acceleration.
He notes that one of the company's engineers recently finished a project that was similar in scope to one completed a year prior. Thanks to new AI coding assistants like Claude Code and OpenAI's Codex, the new project was delivered in a fraction of the time. This isn't an isolated incident but an emerging standard for development teams.
"With tools like Claude Code and OpenAI's Codex, my team ships features in days instead of months," Cox stated, highlighting the dramatic compression of development cycles.
This newfound velocity is dismantling long-standing industry norms. The concept of "technical debt"—the backlog of necessary but non-urgent tasks that plagues most organizations—is being addressed at a much faster rate. What was once a persistent constraint is now manageable, freeing up resources to focus on innovation rather than maintenance.
Corporate Restructuring and the Human Element
The efficiencies introduced by AI are having tangible effects on corporate structures and employment. The decision to reduce the size of the technology team at Axios was a direct result of anticipating these changes. The goal was to create a more nimble organization capable of navigating the fast-evolving technological landscape.
A Transparent Approach
Axios CEO Jim VandeHei has emphasized the company's commitment to being open about the real-world effects of AI on its workforce. "Axios wants to be transparent about how this plays out inside companies and affects total jobs," VandeHei said. He expressed concern that other organizations might be obscuring the full implications of this technological shift.
This restructuring underscores a critical point: as AI handles more of the rote, time-consuming aspects of coding, the required size of engineering teams may decrease. The focus shifts from a large workforce writing code to a smaller, highly skilled team directing AI tools and managing the output.
However, this speed creates a new and unexpected bottleneck. According to Cox, the primary constraint is no longer the time it takes to write code.
The New Bottleneck
The limiting factor in the new AI-powered workflow is not technology but human adaptation. As Cox explains, "The bottleneck is no longer writing code. It's how fast humans can absorb change. We might end up creating things faster than humans can keep up."
This suggests that the future challenges for businesses will be less about engineering and more about change management, user training, and strategic implementation. Companies must now figure out how to integrate new tools and features into their operations without overwhelming their employees and customers.
Shifting Business Strategies for an AI-Driven World
The rapid pace of technological advancement is also forcing a reevaluation of traditional business practices, particularly in software procurement. The era of locking into multi-year software contracts appears to be drawing to a close.
Cox revealed a significant shift in his approach to vendor relationships.
"We're no longer signing software contracts that run longer than a year," he explained. "If it were possible, I'd insist on six months."
This strategy is a direct response to the volatility of the tech landscape. A tool that is cutting-edge today could be obsolete in 12 or 18 months. Shorter contracts provide the flexibility to adopt better, more efficient solutions as they emerge, preventing companies from being tethered to outdated technology.
The Evolving Role of the CTO
The job description for a Chief Technology Officer is also being rewritten. In the past, a CTO's success was often measured by "velocity"—the speed at which their team could ship code and release products. In the near future, that metric is becoming less relevant.
With AI assistants accelerating development, speed is becoming a given. Cox argues that the new competitive advantage lies elsewhere.
- Past Advantage: Velocity (Speed of coding and shipping)
- Future Advantage: Narrative Coherence (Telling a clear, consistent story to users through products)
"Your competitive advantage is no longer velocity. It's narrative coherence," Cox projects for CTOs navigating the landscape of 2026. "You're not just shipping code, you're telling your users a story."
This means the CTO's role will become more strategic, focusing on ensuring that every new feature and product update aligns with the company's core mission and provides a seamless, understandable experience for the user. The challenge is to innovate rapidly without creating a chaotic or confusing product. This pivot from pure engineering to strategic storytelling represents a profound change in how technology leadership is defined and measured.