Coinbase CEO demands engineers to learn AI coding assistants within a week: failure to do so will result in termination.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has once again shocked Silicon Valley with a tough stance, demanding that all internal engineers complete the learning and implementation of the AI coding assistant (AI coding assistant) within a week. He even called out those who failed to do so without justifiable reason during a meeting, leading to heated discussions in the public.

Brian Armstrong's Ironclad Governance: Employees must master AI coding assistants within a week.

In a recent episode of the Cheeky Pint Podcast with Stripe co-founder John Collison, Armstrong revealed that when Coinbase purchased the enterprise licenses for GitHub Copilot and Cursor, he immediately decided to skip the lengthy internal onboarding process and directly asked employees to learn the two AI programming assistants as quickly as possible.

He requested all engineers on Slack to complete their registration and get started within a week, otherwise they would need to personally explain the reasons to him during the meeting on Saturday:

I thought at the time: "AI is important, you don’t have to use it every day before we conduct some training, but at least have a preliminary understanding before the weekend. If not, I will have a meeting on Saturday with all those who haven’t completed it and understand the reasons."

He stated that some employees were excused due to travel and other reasons, but those without valid reasons were dismissed on the spot. This action demonstrates Armstrong's unwavering commitment to integrating AI into the business.

On Armstrong's emphasis on AI: it is the strategic core of Coinbase.

Armstrong repeatedly emphasized that AI is not just an auxiliary tool, but the foundation of Coinbase's future competitiveness. The company even holds "AI speedruns" every month, led by employees skilled in using AI, to teach other colleagues together and set specific goals.

He also updated progress on social media X today, revealing that currently about 40% of Coinbase's code is generated by AI, and hopes to break through 50% before October.

According to Armstrong, AI can not only enhance efficiency but also establish technological barriers to ensure that Coinbase remains at the forefront of the rapidly changing crypto market.

A few weeks ago, he even called for a high-intensity work sprint from 9 AM to 9 PM with the slogan and vision of "Everything Exchange," claiming it would improve efficiency.

Not an exception: The AI integration trend among Silicon Valley giants

In the business world, Coinbase is not an isolated case; tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, and Shopify are also asking their engineering teams to implement AI tools. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has further indicated that the rapid development of AI may lead to a reduction in labor demand.

( The CEO of the Canadian cross-border e-commerce platform Shopify warns employees: If you don't know how to use AI to complete tasks, you won't have a job! )

GitHub's survey data also shows that 92% of large enterprise engineers have used AI programming assistants, and 70% believe these tools provide substantial advantages.

AI-driven new order of corporate culture

Armstrong's approach may be too radical, but the message behind it is clear: AI is no longer just a tool, but a part of corporate culture and survival strategy. In the increasingly competitive technology and crypto markets, leaders must also seek a balance between a decisive and tough corporate culture and a flexible one.

In this article, Coinbase CEO demands engineers learn AI coding assistants within a week: Fail to do so and get fired. First appeared in Chain News ABMedia.