GitHub CEO says AI can help you start a company but not scale it
AI is fast becoming the right hand of many coders. Vibe coding is the latest buzzword — making things significantly easier for engineers by simply allowing them to prompt AI with what they want, rather than writing code line by line in the traditional manner. While AI is undoubtedly helping software engineers and even aspiring entrepreneurs turn their ideas into functioning startups, GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke believes human expertise still plays a vital role when it comes to scaling a business. And it matters — a lot.advertisementSpeaking at Station F during VivaTech in Paris, Dohmke cautioned budding entrepreneurs that although AI coding assistants can help them lay the foundation of their business and lower the entry barrier, AI cannot replace the deep technical knowledge required to build sustainable and scalable companies. Dohmke noted that over the past two years, he has witnessed a shift in mindset — from companies needing convincing to adopt AI, to now experiencing 'a lot of FOMO' in the market.He emphasised that while AI coding assistants are now enabling non-technical founders to build businesses with small teams and no external funding, the widespread use of so-called vibe coding is also making it harder for startups to stand out in front of investors. 'The investors would ask, 'Why would I invest in you instead of the 10 other people?'' he noted (via Business Insider). According to Dohmke, bootstrapped startups predominantly built using AI tools may not hold 'as much value' in the eyes of investors.advertisement
Dohmke argues that even though AI can kickstart product development, it cannot replace skilled developers who are essential for building and scaling complex systems. 'A non-technical founder will find it difficult to build a startup at scale without developers,' he said, 'because they can't build a complex system to justify the next round.''The value of your startup isn't defined by what you can develop using cheap measures,' he added. According to him, startups still need a deeper understanding of how their systems operate in order to attract serious investment and continue growing. At the same time, he cautioned developers to use AI wisely: 'If I figure out how to write a prompt for something I can do myself, it's a waste of time. It's about the prompting skills, but also knowing when not to use the prompt.'Meanwhile, GitHub — a platform with over 150 million users globally — was acquired by Microsoft in 2018 for $7.5 billion. The platform itself offers a range of AI tools. Its flagship tool, GitHub Copilot, is designed to assist developers by suggesting code snippets and offering explanations, thereby speeding up software development. But even with such tools at their disposal, Dohmke insists that foundational coding skills will remain very important in the age of AI.
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