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# Building the Next Generation of Software


- **Date:** Friday, Jul 10, 2026
- **Time:** 09:00–09:30 (30 min)
- **Room:** Mainstage
- **Event:** World Congress 2026 Europe

## Recording

[Watch recording](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100186-building-the-next-generation-of-software)

## Description

To survive and thrive in an AI-first world, Fin (formerly Intercom) made the deliberate decision to abandon every aspect of how it built software – something the company is well known for. When organisations talk about implementing AI, there’s a temptation to look for the minimum necessary adaptations or to focus on the changes that are the most fun, but that is not even table stakes. Building real AI products demands rewriting the entire approach to software at a fundamental level. At Fin, that meant rethinking everything including its processes, speed, and roles. For example, software development operated less like a factory and more like a lab, the pace moved faster with timelines and even team sizes cut in half, and roles transformed across the company as designers and product managers became AI coders and builders.

In this talk, Fin’s Chief Strategy Officer, Des Traynor, details the necessary messy chaos of rebuilding the plane while it’s flying. He’ll explore how this radical shift ultimately led to the creation of their AI Agent, and what it taught them about building products that can actually win in the AI era.

## Speaker

### [Des Traynor](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/@des-traynor)

Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Fin


## Related talks at this congress

- [How building with AI can double the throughput of your engineering team](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2026-europe/sessions/1269-how-building-with-ai) — Brian Scanlan
- [Agentic employees in world's most downloaded FinTech app](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2026-europe/sessions/1133-agentic-employees-in) — Sasa Fajkovic
- [Why optimizing for system comprehension is key to implementing AI for software development](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2026-europe/sessions/1226-why-optimizing-for) — Peter Caron
- [The AI-Native Engineering Org: What’s Real, What’s Hype, What’s Next](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2026-europe/sessions/975-the-ai-native) — Taroon Mandhana, Sebastian Kister