Howie Liu posits that AI is not an incremental feature but a fundamental paradigm shift that forces established companies to re-evaluate their entire mission and execution from an AI-native perspective. He argues that if a new company could achieve the same mission better with AI, the existing company should consider selling.
Airtable has split its R&D organization into a "fast thinking" group focused on weekly AI experiments and a "slow thinking" group working on long-term, foundational infrastructure like a new data store. This bimodal structure is designed to balance rapid, speculative innovation with the stability of the core product.
The traditional silos between product management, design, and engineering are breaking down. Liu emphasizes that individuals who can blend skills—such as a PM who can prototype or a designer who understands model capabilities—are becoming exponentially more valuable than specialists.
The complexity and novelty of AI demand that leaders, including the CEO, become deeply and personally involved in the product again. Liu has actively reduced his standing meetings to free up time for hands-on product work, embodying a trend of the CEO also acting as the de facto Chief Product Officer and an individual contributor.
Keep pulling the thread on Howie Liu.