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Altman: Agents & coding tools collapse project timelines from 3 months to 17 minutes, unlocking ambitious hard-tech startups
“what took three months to build at the time that we each company built over the whole YC startup could now be done with like in like seven minutes by a coding agent... I can do unbelievable things... you can make the startup that took us 3 months of non-stop work in 17 seconds with three months of work and a lot of agents you can do unbelievable things.”
Why it matters
Altman explicitly quantifies AI-driven productivity acceleration, signaling shift toward agent-driven development. This directly enables hard-tech and infrastructure startups previously capital-prohibitive, reshaping founding economics and demand for specialized tools/infrastructure.
Investment implication
Expect surge in hard-tech/robotics/energy startups leveraging AI agents for R&D and design—driving demand for specialized simulation, CAD, electronics design, and testing infrastructure. Companies powering AI-native engineering workflows (e.g., EDA, simulation, testing tools) and infrastructure vendors supporting hard-tech iteration cycles stand to benefit.