Changelog Interviews

David Carney, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Tailscale, builds identity and connectivity features like TSIDP, TSNet, multi-tailnets, and Aperture. He discusses clickless in-tailnet auth via TSIDP. He explores TSNet apps and how multi-tailnets enable isolation and control. He introduces Aperture as a private AI gateway for API key management, observability, and agent security.

Burke Holland, an engineer on GitHub Copilot who builds AI-assisted dev tools, explains why Opus 4.5 felt like a step change. He recounts one-shot coding wins, building small business apps quickly, and modern agent workflows using multiple models. They debate rising expectations for developer tooling, the role of continuous agents, and how AI reshapes software craft and team processes.

Steve Ruiz, founder of tldraw and creator of a high-performance web canvas and SDK, discusses building an SDK business and licensing strategy. He covers pricing, negotiation, enterprise deals, and detecting buyers with license keys. The conversation also explores AI integrations, agent-driven prototyping, internal tooling, performance optimizations, and spatial AIs for collaborative canvases.

Paul Dix, Co-founder and CTO of InfluxData known for InfluxDB and time-series expertise. He recounts sending AI coding agents on real-world side quests. Topics include agentic coding experiments, verification and QA becoming the bottleneck, designing agent-friendly code and tooling, and building internal systems so agents can produce and validate production-ready code.

Tushar Jain, EVP of Engineering at Docker and lead of the Hardened Images initiative, talks about making minimal, production-ready hardened base images and why Docker focused on supply-chain security. He covers SBOMs, reproducible builds, provenance and VEX transparency. He also discusses migration trade-offs, ecosystem integrations, and adapting runtimes for secure AI and agent workflows.

Nicholas C. Zakas, longtime JavaScript engineer and creator of ESLint, reflects on recent npm compromises and why current responses fall short. He critiques token policies, explains trusted publishing and anomaly detection, weighs registry funding and operational challenges, and examines why alternatives like JSR or Volt struggle to replace npm.

Damien Tanner, founder of Pusher and now LayerCode, explores the transformative landscape of software development. He argues that the traditional SaaS model is dying, with voice AI agents taking center stage. Damien highlights the inefficiencies of code review processes and predicts a shift toward agent-driven workflows. He discusses building real-time voice AI infrastructures and how small teams can achieve big dreams. Tune in to gain insights on trusting AI models and the exciting potential for non-technical users to become builders.

Sid Sijbrandij, founder of GitLab and now building Kilo, shares his journey from leading GitLab to navigating his cancer diagnosis. He discusses innovative cancer treatments, revealing how single-cell sequencing has impacted his health strategy. Sid describes his vision for Kilo as an all-in-one engineering platform, prioritizing open-source collaboration. With a focus on developing rapid AI-driven tools, he highlights a future where technology aids diagnostics and empowers aspiring developers. Amid his health challenges, Sid continues to inspire with his entrepreneurial spirit.

Ajay Kulkarni, Co-founder and CEO of Tiger Data, shares his journey from Wall Street to tech founder. He discusses how founder values shape company culture and reflects on his transformative experiences in the database world. The duo dives into the concept of agentic databases, detailing how these tools alter developer workflows and accelerate shipping in the AI era. They explore the exciting future of Postgres-native technologies and the critical balance between empowering agents and maintaining safety in development.

Keenan Wyrobek, cofounder and CTO of Zipline, discusses revolutionary drone logistics that started with delivering medical supplies in Rwanda. He shares insights on overcoming technical challenges and regulatory hurdles while expanding delivery services to e-commerce and agriculture. Keenan elaborates on their innovative double-drone design, cloud-based orchestration, and the future of airspace management. He also highlights the societal impacts of drone delivery, sparking creative uses like gifting and route-worker lunches.