Cannon-Brookes: Software AI gains will increase output rather than cut headcount
Mike Cannon-Brookes · Atlassian CEO on the SaaS Apocalypse, AI Agents & What Comes Next · Mar 6, 2026 · at 16:11
Mike Cannon-Brookes, co-CEO of Atlassian, explains how companies will allocate AI efficiency gains in output-constrained areas like technology and software development.
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“But then I have kind of output-constrained work, if I think about anything creative, marketing, I would argue software development, technology, where I can theoretically do an unlimited amount of tasks, right? I'm constrained by my creativity, if you like, and how many things I can think of to do, how much value I can deliver for my customers. Those are actually where I'll take the efficiency gain and probably do more output rather than limit input within the bounds of making my company profitable and all these sorts of things.”
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