VCs believe AI coding assistants help startups develop products

Venture capitalists believe AI coding assistants are valuable tools for startups, aiding in product development. These assistants streamline coding tasks, improve efficiency, and enhance innovation, helping startups bring products to market faster. By automating aspects of software development, AI tools allow teams to focus on strategic growth, ultimately providing startups with a competitive edge in their respective industries.

By now, almost every coder globally is using an AI assistant in some capacity. However, using tools like GitHub Copilot or Cursor.AI for technical support and debugging is just the beginning. In the future, AI coding could evolve to agents capable of writing entire programs from natural language prompts, potentially replacing human engineers.

Startups focused on generating code from natural language prompts, like Replit and Bubble, are leading the way in this space.

Some VCs believe that in the future, companies will hire fewer engineers and have humans manage AI coding agents instead. "It’s not far off; it's coming, but it's not here yet," said VC Corinne Riley of Greylock at TechCrunch Disrupt.

At many companies in Greylock’s portfolio, coding assistants are already commonly used during technical interviews for prospective hires, she added.

However, Riley cautioned against using AI agents to replace human engineers in early-stage startups solely to save costs. In the seed phase, “you’re laying the company’s foundation, and making major engineering decisions too early is usually not advisable,” she explained.

Nonetheless, VC Elizabeth Yin of Hustle Fund argued that the need for cash management makes using AI coding assistance crucial for young engineers. “In the early stages, you may not fully understand your product or customer profile, so fast iteration is key,” she said.

She supports using AI tools to quickly prototype, even if it means rebuilding later. “I’m in favor if it helps you learn faster,” she added.

This contrasts with the past, when all code had to be written by skilled engineers. Now, an engineer can prompt AI, debug with its help, and get results faster.

VC Renata Quintini of Renegade Partners agreed, stating, “For product-market fit discovery, use all available tools, but don’t worry about optimization in the seed stage.”

Interestingly, as startups in 2024 embrace AI-driven development processes, we may be witnessing the early stages of an AI agent workforce, with coders being the first to work alongside AI agents—both ironic and prophetic.

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Source: Techcrunch‍