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PodcastLatent SpaceOctober 21, 2026

AI for the Fortune 2000: How Tenex Builds an AI-Native SDLC — Alex Lieberman & CJ Hess

Despite near-universal chatbot rollout, only ~5% of large enterprises run AI agents in production outside engineering, says Tenex.

  • Outcome-based pay model: Tenex pays engineers via story points not hours; highest-to-lowest earner spread is ~4x, down from original expectations, with recalibration needed roughly quarterly as models improve.
  • Scale and mix: Tenex is 18 months old, 75 people (90% engineers/AI strategists), 50% Fortune 2000 clients and 50% mid-market ($100-500M revenue); average story-point output per engineer roughly doubled (2x) this year.

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