The conversation around artificial intelligence has shifted. Where businesses once asked "Should we use AI?", they're now asking "How quickly can we become an AI-first company?" From Google to Duolingo, companies across industries are making explicit public declarations that they're reorganizing their entire operations around AI.
And today, we’ll take a look at companies that now call themselves “AI-first”, and what it changed for them.
The term "AI-first" describes companies that center their entire strategy, operations, and products on artificial intelligence. Google's CEO Sundar Pichai popularized the concept in 2016 when he declared the company would shift from "mobile-first to an AI-first world." The distinction matters because it signals a specific approach to building and running a business.
Companies that declare themselves AI-first treat AI as foundational infrastructure, similar to how electricity or the internet powers modern operations. The technology isn't added on top of existing processes, but embedded from the start. Data becomes strategic fuel, employees train to work with AI systems, and decision-making assumes AI-generated insights will drive value.
Google's transformation into an AI-first company started with Sundar Pichai's 2016 announcement during an Alphabet earnings call. Pichai stated: "In the long run, we're evolving in computing from a 'mobile-first' to an 'AI-first' world."
Seven years later, Pichai reaffirmed this direction: "Seven years into our journey as an AI-first company, we're at an exciting inflection point." Google Cloud leader Tarek Khalil added: "We are an AI-first company, and AI fundamentally sits at the heart of our company."
What this meant for Google:
Google positioned AI as enabling more natural and intuitive interactions across all touchpoints. The company's transformation became a template other businesses would follow.
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang made one of the boldest AI-first declarations in 2014, years before AI's mainstream surge. He emailed staff:
What this meant for NVIDIA:
Huang's declaration came when many companies were still treating AI as speculative. NVIDIA's early commitment positioned it to capture massive value as AI adoption accelerated.
Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn announced in 2023 that the language-learning app would "go AI-first." His company memo outlined a dramatic acceleration of AI adoption to improve efficiency and product quality.
What this meant for Duolingo:
The announcement generated significant public discussion, prompting von Ahn to clarify the strategy publicly. The episode highlighted how AI-first transformations can create both operational advantages and communication challenges.
Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke implemented one of the most explicit AI-first mandates in his organization. He established that reflexive AI usage is a "baseline expectation" for all staff, regardless of seniority.
The core policy reverses standard hiring practices: before requesting additional headcount or resources, teams must prove why they cannot achieve the desired outcome using AI. Lütke encouraged managers to ask: "What would this area look like if autonomous AI agents were already part of the team?"
What this meant for Shopify:
This policy fundamentally changed how teams justify resource allocation. Human deployment requires explicit evidence of machine incapacity.
Moderna positioned AI as a necessary, universal capability analogous to electricity or the internet. The pharmaceutical company's AI leadership defined the transformation as empowering every employee to drive innovation at scale.
Moderna adopted an AI-native strategy, designing systems with AI integration inherent from the start. The company operates thousands of AI solutions on internal platforms, including over 1,800 internal GPTs in production.
What this meant for Moderna:
In late 2024, Moderna merged its HR and IT departments into a single function: "People and Digital Technology." This structural change communicated that success with AI depends more on culture and workforce engagement than purely technical expertise.
In 2025, Fiverr CEO Micha Kaufman announced the company would "reimagine itself as an AI-first company." His internal memo framed Fiverr's future as AI-driven, aiming to operate "leaner, faster" with modern AI infrastructure.
What this meant for Fiverr:
The explicit declaration generated media attention as an example of an established platform company adopting the AI-first model.
Klarna co-founder and CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski became a vocal proponent of AI-first transformation in finance. In 2024, he discussed how AI could replace large parts of customer service and led implementation tied to workforce restructuring.
Siemiatkowski publicly discussed Klarna's "AI-first future" and has been described as a "standard-bearer for the notion of 'AI-first' companies."
What this meant for Klarna:
Klarna's approach sparked debate about automation's impact on employment while demonstrating how fintech companies apply AI-first principles.
These declarations share common elements that define what "AI-first" means in practice:
The companies profiled here represent different industries: technology platforms, hardware, IT services, education, fintech, demonstrating that AI-first strategies apply across sectors. Their public declarations signal confidence that AI will provide competitive advantages justifying the operational disruption.
Whether these transformations deliver promised results will depend on execution quality, market conditions, and how effectively companies manage the human and technical challenges involved. The declarations themselves, however, mark a clear inflection point in how businesses position themselves relative to artificial intelligence.
Ready to explore what AI-first could mean for your business? At NineTwoThree, we've helped companies across industries implement AI strategies that deliver measurable ROI. Let's talk about your AI transformation.
The conversation around artificial intelligence has shifted. Where businesses once asked "Should we use AI?", they're now asking "How quickly can we become an AI-first company?" From Google to Duolingo, companies across industries are making explicit public declarations that they're reorganizing their entire operations around AI.
And today, we’ll take a look at companies that now call themselves “AI-first”, and what it changed for them.
The term "AI-first" describes companies that center their entire strategy, operations, and products on artificial intelligence. Google's CEO Sundar Pichai popularized the concept in 2016 when he declared the company would shift from "mobile-first to an AI-first world." The distinction matters because it signals a specific approach to building and running a business.
Companies that declare themselves AI-first treat AI as foundational infrastructure, similar to how electricity or the internet powers modern operations. The technology isn't added on top of existing processes, but embedded from the start. Data becomes strategic fuel, employees train to work with AI systems, and decision-making assumes AI-generated insights will drive value.
Google's transformation into an AI-first company started with Sundar Pichai's 2016 announcement during an Alphabet earnings call. Pichai stated: "In the long run, we're evolving in computing from a 'mobile-first' to an 'AI-first' world."
Seven years later, Pichai reaffirmed this direction: "Seven years into our journey as an AI-first company, we're at an exciting inflection point." Google Cloud leader Tarek Khalil added: "We are an AI-first company, and AI fundamentally sits at the heart of our company."
What this meant for Google:
Google positioned AI as enabling more natural and intuitive interactions across all touchpoints. The company's transformation became a template other businesses would follow.
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang made one of the boldest AI-first declarations in 2014, years before AI's mainstream surge. He emailed staff:
What this meant for NVIDIA:
Huang's declaration came when many companies were still treating AI as speculative. NVIDIA's early commitment positioned it to capture massive value as AI adoption accelerated.
Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn announced in 2023 that the language-learning app would "go AI-first." His company memo outlined a dramatic acceleration of AI adoption to improve efficiency and product quality.
What this meant for Duolingo:
The announcement generated significant public discussion, prompting von Ahn to clarify the strategy publicly. The episode highlighted how AI-first transformations can create both operational advantages and communication challenges.
Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke implemented one of the most explicit AI-first mandates in his organization. He established that reflexive AI usage is a "baseline expectation" for all staff, regardless of seniority.
The core policy reverses standard hiring practices: before requesting additional headcount or resources, teams must prove why they cannot achieve the desired outcome using AI. Lütke encouraged managers to ask: "What would this area look like if autonomous AI agents were already part of the team?"
What this meant for Shopify:
This policy fundamentally changed how teams justify resource allocation. Human deployment requires explicit evidence of machine incapacity.
Moderna positioned AI as a necessary, universal capability analogous to electricity or the internet. The pharmaceutical company's AI leadership defined the transformation as empowering every employee to drive innovation at scale.
Moderna adopted an AI-native strategy, designing systems with AI integration inherent from the start. The company operates thousands of AI solutions on internal platforms, including over 1,800 internal GPTs in production.
What this meant for Moderna:
In late 2024, Moderna merged its HR and IT departments into a single function: "People and Digital Technology." This structural change communicated that success with AI depends more on culture and workforce engagement than purely technical expertise.
In 2025, Fiverr CEO Micha Kaufman announced the company would "reimagine itself as an AI-first company." His internal memo framed Fiverr's future as AI-driven, aiming to operate "leaner, faster" with modern AI infrastructure.
What this meant for Fiverr:
The explicit declaration generated media attention as an example of an established platform company adopting the AI-first model.
Klarna co-founder and CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski became a vocal proponent of AI-first transformation in finance. In 2024, he discussed how AI could replace large parts of customer service and led implementation tied to workforce restructuring.
Siemiatkowski publicly discussed Klarna's "AI-first future" and has been described as a "standard-bearer for the notion of 'AI-first' companies."
What this meant for Klarna:
Klarna's approach sparked debate about automation's impact on employment while demonstrating how fintech companies apply AI-first principles.
These declarations share common elements that define what "AI-first" means in practice:
The companies profiled here represent different industries: technology platforms, hardware, IT services, education, fintech, demonstrating that AI-first strategies apply across sectors. Their public declarations signal confidence that AI will provide competitive advantages justifying the operational disruption.
Whether these transformations deliver promised results will depend on execution quality, market conditions, and how effectively companies manage the human and technical challenges involved. The declarations themselves, however, mark a clear inflection point in how businesses position themselves relative to artificial intelligence.
Ready to explore what AI-first could mean for your business? At NineTwoThree, we've helped companies across industries implement AI strategies that deliver measurable ROI. Let's talk about your AI transformation.
