"What happens when your first 10 hires aren't people at all? At TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, happening October 27-29 at San Francisco's Moscone West, we're digging into the new wave of startups replacing or augmenting early employees with AI agents. Think outbound sales, billing, and customer support - automated from day one. This panel, hosted on the Builders Stage, features a mix of technical founders and seasoned operators who are actually doing it,"
"Caleb Peffer, founder and CEO of Firecrawl, is helping over 350,000 developers (and companies like Shopify and Zapier) plug AI directly into the live web. His dev-first platform is already reshaping how AI agents interact with the internet and scale with clean data. Jaspar Carmichael-Jack, founder and CEO of Artisan, made waves with his "Stop Hiring Humans" campaign - and he's serious. His company raised $35 million to build AI employees, starting with sales. Expect bold insights on replacing go-to-market teams with code."
"Whether you're already embedding AI into your stack or just testing prompts on your product team, this conversation is about more than hype. It's about getting real on ROI, trust, team dynamics, and what it means to build a business that moves faster than ever with fewer human hands. Ready to find your edge? Join 10,000+ founders, VCs, and innovators at Disrupt this October. Regular Bird savings of up to $668 end September 26 at 11:59 p.m. PT - Get your ticket now to lock in your spot."
Startups are replacing or augmenting early employees with AI agents that perform outbound sales, billing, and customer support from day one. Developer-focused platforms enable developers to plug AI into the live web, improving agent interaction and data hygiene. Venture-backed firms are building AI employees for go-to-market and operational roles, accelerating scaling while raising questions about ROI, trust, and team dynamics. Determining which tasks require human judgment versus automation has become a strategic priority. Companies must balance speed and efficiency with responsibility, reliability, and the human elements of growth.
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