StackBlitz CEO Eric Simons has set an ambitious goal: to have more AI agents than human employees working at the company by the end of the year. He views this milestone as a sign of a sweeping transformation taking place across the software industry, driven by the rise of intelligent AI agents. In an interview with Business Insider, Simons revealed that StackBlitz has gone “all in on agents,” integrating internally developed AI systems across key areas including business intelligence, software development, product management, customer support, and outbound sales. He believes AI is no longer just a tool for writing code—it’s becoming a core operational force in how companies are structured and run. The shift is already visible in tools like OpenClaw, an open-source AI assistant that operates across messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Slack, and iMessage. These systems can communicate and coordinate with one another autonomously, without requiring direct human input. “This is a crystal ball into the wildness of the inevitable future,” Simons said. “Your AI agents will talk to other people’s agents on your behalf—negotiating prices, checking restaurant availability, even arguing your political views.” He sees AI agents as digital extensions of individuals, capable of making decisions and taking actions on their owners’ behalf. “People will generally trust their agents with whatever they recommend to buy, reserve, believe, or otherwise,” he added. Simons’s vision comes amid a broader market downturn in software and SaaS stocks. He attributes the slump to investors finally recognizing that AI can now build software autonomously, undermining traditional competitive advantages built on specialized knowledge and human expertise. Drawing a parallel to the industrial revolution, Simons explained that in the past, craft knowledge protected businesses. But automation and digital design eventually replaced many of those models. “Today, it’s a CAD file you can 3D print,” he said. “While most people don’t 3D print chairs themselves, a new generation of companies does—and they’ve replaced the old ones by leveraging automation that’s faster, cheaper, and scalable in ways previously unimaginable.” For businesses, the implications are profound. Even long-established enterprise software companies may be vulnerable if AI agents can rewrite, migrate, or rebuild entire systems at speeds 100 to 10,000 times faster than human teams—without breaks and in parallel across thousands of instances. “What does it mean when all of software can be written, rewritten, migrated, or otherwise, 100x or 10,000x faster than ever before, by a workforce that never sleeps and can be scaled infinitely?” Simons asked. “It’s daunting and mind-bending. I think the repricing of SaaS in public markets today more accurately reflects this reality.”