LEAKED internal memo from CEO of Shopify Tobi Lutke around AI (see image below).

10 quick takeaways i have after reading it

1. a subtle but huge reframe: “hire an AI before you hire a human.”
2. AI is now a baseline expectation at shopify. hiring filters will probably favor ai-fluent candidates at shopify and other companies.
3. AI agents are now treated like teammates, not tools.
4. prompting is now a core skill. top performers will be top prompters.
5. AI usage is now measured. kinda wild. probably a business idea there to build the lattice for AI usage.
6. AI-first prototyping is the new standard. shipping speed will probably 10x even at a $100B company like Shopify.
7. org charts blur, headcount planning now includes bots, not just bodies.
8. AI literacy is the new coding literacy. prompting, contextualizing, or evaluating ai output is become mandatory.
9. AI is now a core layer in the software stack. not a plugin. not an add-on. ai sits beside infra, backend, frontend, and design. the best teams will be the ones who treat it like infrastructure.
10. tobi’s memo screams one thing: more impact per person. shopify is early to this, but i bet this will hit every major company over the next 12-24 months.

Author

AiUTOMATING PEOPLE, ABN ASIA was founded by people with deep roots in academia, with work experience in the US, Holland, Hungary, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam. ABN Asia is where academia and technology meet opportunity. With our cutting-edge solutions and competent software development services, we're helping businesses level up and take on the global scene. Our commitment: Faster. Better. More reliable. In most cases: Cheaper as well.

Feel free to reach out to us whenever you require IT services, digital consulting, off-the-shelf software solutions, or if you'd like to send us requests for proposals (RFPs). You can contact us at [email protected]. We're ready to assist you with all your technology needs.

© ABN ASIA