There's a narrative gaining traction in our industry: software engineering is dead, AI can write all the code, and therefore you don't need a technical co-founder. Just be the subject matter expert, point the agents at the problem, and ship.
I think this is exactly wrong.
More and more, I'm hearing from founders and fellow investors asking the same question: "If agents can write all my code, why do I need a technical co-founder?" My answer is that you need one more than ever.
We now live in a world where technological progress is so rapid and the landscape is shifting so fast that you need someone on your team who can navigate that complexity. Software has become incredibly cheap to produce, but cheap doesn't mean simple. The decisions about what to build, how to architect it, which models to use, how to manage agents, and how to ensure your system still works in three months — those decisions have only gotten harder.
A technical co-founder's job has changed, but it hasn't disappeared. In the old days, you needed a team of eight engineers to build your first MVP. That's been compressed: today you might need one or two engineers and an army of agents running in parallel. But someone still needs to have the technical depth to manage those agents, understand what needs to be built, make architectural decisions, and maintain quality over time.
This is the paradox of the current moment: everything has changed and nothing has changed at the same time.
The tools are different. The speed is different. The cost structure is different. But the fundamental need for technical leadership — someone who deeply understands technology and can help your organization navigate a world that's moving faster than ever — that hasn't changed at all.
If anything, the bar for technical leadership is higher now. It's no longer enough to be a great engineer who can write clean code and lead humans.
You need someone who understands the current AI landscape, who can evaluate when to use agents versus when to write code by hand, who can make the right build-versus-buy decisions, and most importantly: who can help you stay ahead of the curve, in a world where the options are compounding exponentially.
If you're building a technology company in 2026, your technical co-founders are more important than ever.
/k