Episode
How AI is Rewriting Software Engineering with Amperity CTO Derek Slager
- Podcast
- Shift AI
- Published
- Apr 17, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2026
- Processing state
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Summary
In this episode of the Shift AI Podcast, Derek Slager, CTO and co-founder of Amperity, joins host Boaz Ashkenazy for a conversation that spans 10 years of company building, the evolution of AI-assisted software development, and what it really means to lead a technical organization through genuine disruption. Derek shares the founding story of Amperity, how he and co-founder Kabir Shahani stumbled into the customer data problem while building marketing automation at their previous company, Aperture, and how that experience became the thesis for building an entire platform around getting data right. The conversation moves into the heart of how AI has transformed Derek's work as a CTO and as an engineer. He describes the moment the shift felt real, the team dynamics of moving from individual AI exploration to a true team sport, and how Amperity is compounding the institutional knowledge locked in a decade of after-action reviews into something agents can now actually learn from. Derek addresses the "SaaS is dead" narrative head-on arguing that Amperity's data foundation is precisely the asset that makes agents genuinely useful for their customers. Boaz and Derek close with a forward-looking exchange on agentic workflows in marketing, the importance of redesigning process and what a learning mindset means for individuals and organizations navigating what comes next. This episode is essential listening for CTOs, data leaders, and operators who want to understand how the companies with the best data foundations are positioned to thrive in the agentic era. Chapters [00:00] Introduction: Derek's Path to Building Amperity [02:13] What Amperity Is and Why It Took 10 Years to Build [04:41] First Job: Early IT Work at Dad's Small Business in Monroe, WA [06:14] The Founde…