Will AI Reduce Engineer Headcount?

Thomas Laffont, Co-Founder of $70B AUM Coatue, joins Sourcery to break down how AI is reshaping both private and public markets—from Coatue’s investment in Anthropic’s $30B Series G at a $380B Valuation to the growing volatility AI is introducing across SaaS and the broader tech complex.

Recorded live at the Upfront Summit 2026 in Los Angeles on February 25th, 2026, Laffont shares his take on the Citrini “Global Intelligence Crisis” paper, why boardrooms are rapidly expanding AI spend, and which private companies could emerge as the next “Magnificent 7.”

We discuss:

• Coatue leading Anthropic’s latest funding round (recently hit $19B ARR)

• Why AI coding tools are spreading rapidly inside organizations

• The Citrini paper and how investors should interpret it

• Why SaaS valuations are being repriced

• The “Next Mag 7” candidates in private markets

• Coatue’s philosophy of Big Idea Investing or (“BFI) and risk management

Thomas Laffont: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-laffont-02430914/ 

Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea 

Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy 

𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊

YouTube: https://youtu.be/otqg7UaZb4E

𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒

• Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery

• Turing—Turing delivers top-tier talent, data, and tools to help AI labs improve model performance—and enables enterprises to turn those models into powerful, production-ready systems. https://turing.com/sourcery

• Deel—Deel is the global people platform that helps startups hire, manage, pay, and equip anyone, anywhere. Trusted by more than 35,000 fast-growing companies, Deel is the people platform that just works, so teams can scale without the chaos. Visit: https://www.deel.com/sourcery

• Public–Investing platform Public just launched Generated Assets, which lets you turn any idea into an investable index with AI. With Generated Assets, you can build, backtest, refine, and invest in any thesis with AI. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all ETFs. https://public.com/sourcery

Follow Sourcery for the latest updates!

https://www.sourcery.vc/

Disclosure

Paid Endorsement. Brokerage services by Open to the Public Investing Inc, member FINRA & SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC-registered adviser. Crypto trading provided by Zero Hash LLC, licensed by the NYSDFS. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool by Public Advisors. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. See disclosures at public.com/disclosures/ga. Matched funds must remain in your account for at least 5 years. Match rate and other terms are subject to change at any time.

𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒

(00:00) Thomas Laffont, Co-Founder Coatue Management

(01:18) The rapid rise of Claude Code

(04:15) Anthropic’s revenue growth and trajectory

(05:25) Where capital is flowing: private vs public markets

(08:10) The Cetrini paper and AI market volatility

(10:15) Are new Claude releases hurting SaaS companies?

(17:22) Will AI reduce the number of engineers?

(19:38) The ATM analogy for AI and jobs

(21:02) Could autonomous agents automate investing?

(23:18) How Coatue got conviction on Nvidia

(24:18) Why TAM does not matter

(26:43) Running Coatue with his brother Philippe