Linear CEO Karri Saarinen: after tuning out AI all summer, 'nothing has really changed'
lennysan · x · 2026-10-08
Linear CEO Karri Saarinen shared a contrarian take: after deliberately tuning out AI this summer, he expected to feel left behind—instead he found "nothing has really changed." New models, techniques, and agents keep arriving, but making great products, growing revenue, and building a business remains hard.
His key points:
- The tools are clearly getting better; you can do more, faster
- But are we actually making better things with them? Are teams getting better?
- He doesn't think the answer is clearly yes
- The industry overemphasizes toolmaking; product people's job is still to make something great
Related event: Linear CEO Returns From AI Break to Find Little Has Really Changed(2 posts)→
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