Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Michele Catasta is the President and Head of AI at Replit. He sat down with us live on the SaaStr floor to talk about Replit's agent strategy, why their AI thesis is additive (not subtractive), how Replit's security architecture beat the TanStack supply chain attack with zero user impact, and three years of agent-harness research that keeps Replit ahead.
In this interview we cover:
• "I'm the plumber": how Michele thinks about his role
• Why SaaStr 2026 felt like the vision becoming real
• The new skill: knowing what to do yourself vs. delegate to an agent vs. collaborate with humans
• "The word manager should disappear from the vocabulary"
• Replit's additive AI thesis: don't subtract teams, add capacity
• The "stretch your team thin" rule that forces internal automation
• Vibe code before you subscribe (plus the enterprise negotiation hack)
• "Security is not optional, it's a must-have"
• The Security Agent: using the same AI techniques attackers use, in reverse
• How Replit beat the TanStack supply chain attack with zero user impact
• Inside the agent harness: three years of research and counting
• Why Replit doesn't let users bring their own API keys
• The next billion software creators mission
Parent stream replay (full Day 1): youtu.be/EWv2cIQpYbo
Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome from the SaaStr floor
00:25 "I'm the plumber"
01:09 SaaStr feels different: the Replit vision is real
02:46 How do we level more builders to Jason Lemkin's level?
03:55 The next horizon: building agents on Replit
04:40 "Everybody's a manager of agents"
05:00 The inversion: people reporting to agents
05:30 "The word manager should disappear from the vocabulary"
06:13 What's the upper limit of engineering at Replit?
06:59 AI layoffs vs. real growth: "the truth is in the middle"
07:38 Replit's additive AI thesis
09:38 Dogfooding internally: amplifying output with the tool
10:30 The "stretch your team thin" rule
11:48 Vibe code it before you subscribe (and the enterprise negotiation hack)
12:29 How Michele shapes the product roadmap
13:46 The long-term mission: empower the next billion software creators
15:47 What had to change for the enterprise: "nothing and everything"
16:18 No nerfed agent for the enterprise tier
16:40 "Security is not optional, it's a must-have"
18:25 Inside the Security Agent: leveling the playing field
19:14 Security Center + the supply chain attack era
20:51 TanStack supply chain attack: zero user impact
22:00 Inside the agent harness (three years of research)
23:30 Why bring-your-own-key is friction, not freedom
25:30 Trust us on deployment, scaling, DDoS
25:55 The hackathon "mind blown" moment
26:30 The proud papa moment: people building their dreams
28:18 Wrap
Subscribe for more: youtube.com/@replit
Follow Manny: https://x.com/MannyBernabe
Follow Raymmar: https://x.com/raymmar
Follow Francisco: https://x.com/Franciscocrz
Follow Michele: https://x.com/pirroh
#Replit #AI #Enterprise #AIAgents #VibeCoding #SaaStr #AgentHarness #AISecurity #FutureOfWork #B2BAI
Michele Catasta is the President and Head of AI at Replit. He sat down with us live on the SaaStr floor to talk about Replit's agent strategy, why their AI thesis is additive (not subtractive), how Replit's security architecture beat the TanStack supply chain attack with zero user impact, and three years of agent-harness research that keeps Replit ahead.
In this interview we cover:
• "I'm the plumber": how Michele thinks about his role
• Why SaaStr 2026 felt like the vision becoming real
• The new skill: knowing what to do yourself vs. delegate to an agent vs. collaborate with humans
• "The word manager should disappear from the vocabulary"
• Replit's additive AI thesis: don't subtract teams, add capacity
• The "stretch your team thin" rule that forces internal automation
• Vibe code before you subscribe (plus the enterprise negotiation hack)
• "Security is not optional, it's a must-have"
• The Security Agent: using the same AI techniques attackers use, in reverse
• How Replit beat the TanStack supply chain attack with zero user impact
• Inside the agent harness: three years of research and counting
• Why Replit doesn't let users bring their own API keys
• The next billion software creators mission
Parent stream replay (full Day 1): youtu.be/EWv2cIQpYbo
Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome from the SaaStr floor
00:25 "I'm the plumber"
01:09 SaaStr feels different: the Replit vision is real
02:46 How do we level more builders to Jason Lemkin's level?
03:55 The next horizon: building agents on Replit
04:40 "Everybody's a manager of agents"
05:00 The inversion: people reporting to agents
05:30 "The word manager should disappear from the vocabulary"
06:13 What's the upper limit of engineering at Replit?
06:59 AI layoffs vs. real growth: "the truth is in the middle"
07:38 Replit's additive AI thesis
09:38 Dogfooding internally: amplifying output with the tool
10:30 The "stretch your team thin" rule
11:48 Vibe code it before you subscribe (and the enterprise negotiation hack)
12:29 How Michele shapes the product roadmap
13:46 The long-term mission: empower the next billion software creators
15:47 What had to change for the enterprise: "nothing and everything"
16:18 No nerfed agent for the enterprise tier
16:40 "Security is not optional, it's a must-have"
18:25 Inside the Security Agent: leveling the playing field
19:14 Security Center + the supply chain attack era
20:51 TanStack supply chain attack: zero user impact
22:00 Inside the agent harness (three years of research)
23:30 Why bring-your-own-key is friction, not freedom
25:30 Trust us on deployment, scaling, DDoS
25:55 The hackathon "mind blown" moment
26:30 The proud papa moment: people building their dreams
28:18 Wrap
Subscribe for more: youtube.com/@replit
Follow Manny: https://x.com/MannyBernabe
Follow Raymmar: https://x.com/raymmar
Follow Francisco: https://x.com/Franciscocrz
Follow Michele: https://x.com/pirroh
#Replit #AI #Enterprise #AIAgents #VibeCoding #SaaStr #AgentHarness #AISecurity #FutureOfWork #B2BAI
