Some startups now have ten times more AI workers than people

At the startup Anything, 15 people work alongside roughly 150 AI agents. Agents are software that handles tasks without a person stepping in each time. They schedule meetings, write code, and even message the office manager bot when the snacks run out. The founder expects this ratio to become normal within a year.

What it looks like day to day

Founder Dhruv Amin talks to dozens of colleagues daily, and none are human. Gwen is his executive assistant. Cody helps with coding. Betsy handles search engine optimization, and Juno onboards customers. Justin keeps the kitchen stocked. "I think in a year, every company will have more AI co-workers than human co-workers," Amin said.

In the San Francisco tech scene, a high agent count has become a status symbol. It signals that a company can do more with less.

Jobs and cost

Lindy, which makes customizable agents, used to have almost 50 employees. After laying off one-third of its staff, it has about 20 and has filled many open roles with agents. It is still hiring people for some jobs. A marketing manager there said agents now do work that about 100 people in its creator program used to handle.

She also worries about newcomers. "If I was trying to get my foot in the door right now, I'd be worse off than I was a year ago," she said.

A small business example

Jay Blumenfield runs a Los Angeles company that makes short scripted series for phones. After firing an assistant director mid-project, he tried an AI agent instead of hiring a replacement. It produced the schedule, call sheet and day's script, and sent them to cast and crew. Everyone got their work done. He and a partner now run the company alone with a set of agents.

The catch

Agents can push away customers and colleagues who want a human. They also eliminate roles. Employees can become overnight managers of bots that often make mistakes. MIT research shows companies are not yet seeing major productivity gains from AI.

Beyond startups

McKinsey's survey found about 40% of large organizations used AI agents in some form between May 2025 and June 2026, up from 27% the year before. Boston Consulting Group found companies expect to shrink their workforce by 10% to 15% over the next few years as they hand more work to AI.

Many products are on offer, including Viktor, Lindy, OpenAI's Dots, Anthropic's Claude Cowork and Microsoft's Scout. Some can keep working on projects after employees go home.