How to Use AI in 2026: Opendoor Founder's Advice
Joe Lonsdale interviews JD Ross, founder of Opendoor and current CEO of With Coverage, about how to build companies in 2026 using AI. Ross argues that AI has fundamentally changed software development and business strategy, enabling engineers to work through agentic AI tools rather than writing code directly, and allowing companies to iterate on customer requests at unprecedented speed.
Key takeaways
- • Engineers at With Coverage no longer write code directly; instead they manage multiple AI agents simultaneously that handle development tasks, drastically reducing software development timelines and costs.
- • Claude Computer Use and similar AI tools have automated entire workflows like logging into carrier portals and downloading documents, eliminating tasks that previously required dedicated team members.
- • The limiting factor for AI adoption is now organizational ability to absorb and implement change, not AI capability—models are already sophisticated enough that improving context and data input is more valuable than waiting for better models.
- • Large foundational AI companies (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google) will likely build enterprise solutions in high-value areas, making it risky for startups to compete directly in software development or adjacent spaces without exceptional talent.
- • Successful AI-era companies should focus on being the trusted expert in a specific domain (like insurance risk management) rather than trying to replace entire categories with generic AI solutions.
- • Young entrepreneurs have unprecedented opportunity because we're in a new "invention era" where experienced builders and newcomers start from equal footing, similar to the mobile computing era—enabling creation of entirely new industries from scratch.
Recommendations (6)
"If you look at Claude Computer Use which came out you know two weeks ago and the types of spreadsheets and models that they're creating... we use this internally for simple things like logging into..."
JD Ross · ▶ 25:19
Mentioned (4)
More from these creators
How 200mph Flying Taxis Will End Traffic Jams
How AI Agents Are Creating 12X Productivity Gains
Jake Paul on Endorsing Trump & Investing in Attention
NASA's Warning: We Are 1 Year From Losing the Moon
6 Levels of AI Investing Everyone Should Know
Exposing a Billion Dollar Fraud Scandal (Using Palantir)